Enemy My Friend
by Arus
Summary: Follows after Destiny. The Voltron Force must work with their long time enemy to escape a death trap. C&C Appreciated! Some Adult situations in later chapters. Finished.
1. Prologue

########################################################################  
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Prologue  
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The old building stood empty. Paint peeling from the walls, exposing the gray hard mortar below it. The stained glassed window that once filled the empty frames laid on the ground before it in pieces; worn smooth by the weather, rain and from time. It had been a long time since anyone had occupied this derelict building. A long time since anyone had inhabited any of the buildings near this abandoned church. Dust from crumbling bricks and plywood covered the floor. In a few places along the boarded floor, nature took its time to reclaim what was once a very lively and bustling town.  
  
Now only the memories of once was alive haunted the now empty city. The ghosts of this city's past haunted the very place that was once a striving metropolis.  
  
The lone dark figure stepped out onto the dirt-covered highway that was once a heavily traveled path in front of the church. It looked all around, seeing nothing that would explain what had happened here had been left behind. Only the skeletons of buildings stood. These buildings that once served to keep this city alive.  
  
This was one of several cities on this small planet the lone figure had visited that day. And each, the same; empty, desolate, destroyed. No sign of life, save for plants here and there. Nothing to indicate what kind of people whom once inhabited the planet. There was nothing to indicate where they had all gone; or even if they had a chance to leave.  
  
--This shall be a good planet.--  
  
The voice caught the figure by surprise and it quickly turned to meet its traveling companion.  
  
--Do you think it's feasible?--  
  
--If we are to succeed.--  
  
--I found the processing plant; it's a few miles that way. It would serve as good a staging ground.--  
  
--Yes, I saw it on the way in.--  
  
--Then we shall go as according to plan?--  
  
--Yes.-- the companion then handed the figure a small metal tube. --Be sure this goes to Arus. I will have Sendrre take his to Vallis.--  
  
--And you?--  
  
--I will go to Doom.--  
  
--Zarkon will not like you intruding on his business again.--  
  
The older man only smiled. --That old king has much to answer for...and I will see that his son and daughter are the ones to answer for it. Go on, Lemile, we are short on time.--  
  
Lemille, nodded and placed the small tube within her satchel she wore. --We will contact each other once the messages are delivered?--  
  
The companion nodded. --And we meet back here.--  
  
--Shall we give it .....10 days?--   
  
-- 10 days Arusian...-- he answered. --How is your Arusian by the way?--  
  
--Not as strong as I would like it...-- she said. --What is it they speak now?--  
  
--Galaxy Alliance standard...I believe...Engrih...Engli...--  
  
--English?-- she asked.  
  
--That's it.-- he said. --You should be able to pick it up quick enough.--  
  
Lemille nodded. --10 days it is.--  
  
--Safe travel, Lemille.--  
  
--Safe travel, Roaman.--  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/------  
  
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Vallis  
----------------  
  
The sun was at its highest point, casting its warm rays down upon the green earth. The wind was whistling through the bows of the trees nearby. A flock of birds soared overhead.  
Keith breathed in deeply, filling his being with the serenity around him.  
  
"You can't sneak up on me," he suddenly said as he turned to meet the very person who had come to see him.  
Anala smiled as she came to stand before him. "Your senses have become even more acute," she stated.  
  
"I could smell your perfume," he said. "And I am down wind of you."  
She crossed her arms. "I didn't put on perfume," she said. "And I took a mineral bath this morning. The perfume would have washed off."  
He slowly walked up to her and leaned in to take a deep breath. "Lavender," he said. "And Jasmine."  
  
"I wore Jasmine yesterday," she said. "And Lavender the day before. You can still smell them?"  
  
"Perfumes are oil based," he stated. "They get absorbed by the skin, and takes a while to wash off."  
  
She smiled. "I'll have to find a better way of sneaking up on you."  
  
"What brings you out here today?"  
  
"A message came in for you," she said. "From Princess Allura."  
  
"Oh?" he asked. "Is she fine?"  
  
Anala nodded. "When you are done here, you can come inside and read it," she said. "Mom has lunch ready for us."  
  
"I'll be in a short while," he said.  
  
Anala nodded. "Don't be too long," she said. "And remember, we were going to have a talk this afternoon."  
  
"I haven't forgotten," he said.  
  
"I'll see you inside."  
  
Keith nodded and watched as she started to walk away. He then breathed in deeply as he took a seat on the ground before him.  
  
----Your destiny....fulfilled...----  
  
He quickly turned around wondering who had whispered that. The wind blew up suddenly, but there was no one.  
  
----You are the key.....----  
  
He again turned to see who was speaking....No one.  
  
----Enemy my friend....----  
  
"Who's there?" he said as he stood.  
  
----Enemy my friend....----  
  
"Who's THERE?" he demanded again.  
  
-"-Keith?-"-  
  
Keith swung around to see Xue approaching, but as the wind came up again, it made an eerily howling noise through the nearby trees. He suddenly then felt nauseas, then dizzy.... and the last thing he knew, the world began to spin as Xue rushed to his side, and then everything went black.............  
  



	2. Chapter 01

########################################################################  
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 1  
----------------  
  
-----Arus -----  
  
Allura let out a sigh as she stared out the window of her study. She leaned against the glass as she mindlessly played with the small charm she wore around her neck. She watched as Hunk led the Voltron Beta team through some laps around the moat that surrounded the castle. She smiled to herself remember the same such exercises she would do.  
  
A ring came from her door, and she breathed in deeply as she slowly walked over to it.  
  
"Come in."  
  
The door slid open and she smiled as Coran entered.  
  
"How are you coming along with the trade dispute between Kurutz and Wihim?" he asked.  
  
She smiled. "I have arranged to meet with representatives of both towns tomorrow afternoon," she stated. "I'll propose that Kurutz trade some of their farmland to gain access to Wihim's fuel supply."  
  
"A sound decision," he said. "Nanny wants you to know that dinner will be a little early tonight, since she will need to leave by 9 tonight."  
  
"Ah, that's right, she was to visit her sister in Levitz," Allura stated. "I'll be sure to let the rest know of the time change."  
  
Coran smiled. "Also, if you aren't too busy, there is a communique for you from Queen Anala," he said. "She should be directed to you in just a few moments."  
  
Allura smiled. "Thanks."  
  
"Is there anything else you need, princess?"  
  
"Not at the moment, Coran," she stated. "Did you see to that business I spoke to you about earlier this month?"  
  
"It's all been arranged, princess."  
  
"Then if it's all settled, I will see you later, at dinner."  
  
"Don't be late."  
  
Allura smiled as she watched as Coran leave her study. As the door slid closed behind him, the monitor on her desk beeped. She walked over to it and turned it on. She smiled as she saw Anala on the screen before her.  
  
"Hello, Anala," she said as she took a seat in her chair. "I hope that all is well."  
  
"Everything is fine, Allura," she said. "I just wanted to let you know that Keith shall be returning to Arus in a couple of days. He had a sudden attack earlier today, but Ferryn has suggested that it's just due to fatigue."  
  
"I understand," Allura stated. "I hope that he is doing fine."  
  
"As well as he can be," Anala stated. "Also, I wanted to ask you about something I found earlier, here on Vallis."  
  
"Oh, what is it?" Allura asked.  
  
Anala then placed what looked like to be old tattered leather bound book in front of her. "This was found among some of my collections; no doubt from one of Kelar's raids on transport ships," she stated. "Probably one of many he raided from Doom."  
  
"What is it?" Allura asked.  
  
"Sending you over a better image."  
  
Allura nodded and watched as the book cover appeared in better detail on her screen.  
  
"The markings are strange to me, but my advisor states that it could be...."  
  
"Arusian," Allura stated as she looked over the cover.  
  
"Yes," Anala stated. "I can't read it however."  
  
"It's been years since I've been able to read it," Allura stated. "Anala, is it possible for you to send the book with Keith on his return?"  
  
"With pleasure," she said. "You have someone there that can read it?"  
  
"Yes, one of our Beta team members is fluent in the language," Allura said. "Which I've also asked of him to teach me."  
  
"I'll see to it that it's returned to you," Anala stated. "I did look through it however, and I must say, whoever wrote the book must have been a very smart individual."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
Anala then sent over another picture of a page from a book.  
  
"I found this entry in one of the books we have in our own library, here in on Vallis," she said. "When I looked through the Arusian book, I started to see some similarities."  
  
"As in?"  
  
"Both have a star map; albeit not a very descriptive star map," Anala stated. "Though both books were written by two very different individuals, I found that these particular maps shared some common instances."  
  
Anala then sent over the page from her own book and a page that was from the Arusian Book. Allura studied both pages of hand-drawn star maps.  
  
"Wouldn't that be..."  
  
"Yes," she stated. "These two planets, in both maps are Arus and Pollux...the only twin planets in this system."  
  
"And both point to a system near ours," Allura stated.  
  
"Yes," Anala stated as she appeared on the monitor again. "Seems we have a little mystery."  
  
"It seems so," Allura stated. "Anala, please have your book researched and as soon as Keith returns with the Arusian book, I'll have my cadet look it over."  
  
"Will do," Anala stated. "Allura, there was also something I've been meaning to talk to you about."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"What exactly do you remember from....what happened on Lysia?"  
  
Allura leaned back in her chair and looked at her. "When you took Keith away?"  
  
Anala nodded. "We don't have a complete story as well, since none of us witnessed what had happened to Kelar..."  
  
Allura nodded. "Has Keith said anything about what had happened?"  
  
"He says he doesn't remember a thing," she said. "But...we are talking about Keith."  
  
Allura smiled weakly. "Well...."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/-----------/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/------  
  
----Lysia - 3 months ago.... ----  
  
Baron Akryl held Allura back as Kelar stood before them all, with his hands around Keith's neck. He held her back, knowing that if she tried to intervene, Kelar would just kill her friend.  
  
"For all that you have done against my people, Kelar, for all the evil you posses, I guarantee that my power, over all shall never be yours."  
  
"Whelp," Kelar seethed as he held Keith above him, choking the young captain. "That power was to be mine, and now I will have to destroy you. You are unworthy to be considered a God."  
  
Keith clawed at Kelar's arms as he held him off of the ground.  
  
Allura fought against Akryl's hold on her, wanting to do everything she could to have Kelar release him. She was then able to break free, and she ran up to Kelar. Before she could do anything, he swung at her approach, hitting her, which sent her flying back. Akryl managed to catch her as she fell to the floor.  
  
"I will deal with you later, princess," Kelar seethed.  
  
It was at that moment, all the sound in the room suddenly ceased, and the air began to sizzle with energy. Allura slowly looked up as she turned toward where Kelar was standing, and noticed that a light was beginning to surround them both.  
  
"Keith!" Allura yelled, but soon, the light became blinding....the room filled with the strange light, and then nothing.  
  
Allura woke suddenly, gasping for air as she quickly sat up, looking around to see what had happened. She then noticed that everyone in the room was out...unconscious.  
  
She then saw the slumped form of her long time friend where Kelar once stood.  
  
"Keith!"  
  
She ran to his side, quickly turning him over to see if he was still alive. He was unconscious, barely breathing.  
  
Xue was next to her before she knew it, and lightly pushing her aside, took Keith into his arms and stood.  
  
"What are you doing?" Allura asked.  
  
He didn't answer, but turned to Anala as she approached.  
  
"Anala?"  
  
Anala looked to Xue as he held his hand out to her.  
  
"Allura, we must go."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We don't have time to explain, but we must." Anala stated. "You will hear from us soon."  
  
"Anala..."  
  
Before Allura could get another word in, Anala, Xue and Keith disappeared.  
  
"Keith..."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/-----------/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/------  
  
----Arus - Present Day ----  
  
"I neither saw what had happened, but..."  
  
"But what?" Anala asked.  
  
"I can remember seeing something odd."  
  
"And that was?"  
  
"Anala...what did...what did your Ylren look like?"  
  
Anala looked a little confused. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Do you have any images? Paintings of what Ylren looked like?" Allura asked. "You know, the God of your people."  
  
"Let me see if I have one in the archives," Anala stated. "Ah, here. I have to apologize for the image quality."  
  
An image then displayed on the monitor before Allura and all she could do was take a deep breath. On her monitor, from an old painting, was the image of a young Vallusian, who probably was not much older than Keith. He had dirty-blonde hair, as illustrated in the painting, with deep blue eyes, that even her own could not rival. He stood with an authority she only saw within her own father.  
  
"Anala.."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"This is who I saw before Kelar disappeared."  
  
"Allura, that can't be possible."  
  
"I was the closest to them when it all happened. Even through the bright light, I could see a little of what was going on," Allura stated. "Is it possible, that your god, might be using Keith as a type of vessel?"  
  
"A medium you mean?"  
  
Allura nodded. "That he wasn't exactly given the powers of your god, but is only acting as a way for your god to do what he needs to do, whatever that is."  
  
"I'll have to check with the Elders on that," Anala stated. "I would never think of it that way, but something we should look into. And I'll run it pass Keith as well, to see if any of it may strike a memory within him."  
  
"Good idea," Allura stated. "And if it should be of any importance...."  
  
"I am fully aware of your concerns, Allura, and I'll fight with the Elders about making sure Keith is returned home to you, and that even with this new possibility, that they will have no say over where he goes, and what he can do."  
  
Allura smiled inwardly. "I'm sure you will give it your best effort, Anala, and I thank you," she said.  
  
Anala slowly nodded. "I know it's not my place, Allura, but I understand your position on many things..." Anala stated. "I know how much Keith means to you, and what you feel for him."  
  
"Anala, its not what..."  
  
"Allura, I've been there," she said. "And I probably am still there...I know he's much more than just a friend to you, as much as you want to convince yourself of it. He needs your understanding more than ever now, and you must be there for him...as he always has been there for you."  
  
Allura could only nod. "Anala, promise me that..."  
  
"My lips are sealed, Allura," she said. "But I can't make a promise that this will not come up between my brother and I; as a sister, I am concerned about him and his welfare."  
  
"I understand," she said.  
  
Anala then hesitated a moment before asking her final question.  
  
"Do you...love him?"  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/-----------/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/------  
  
----Vallis----  
  
Sendrre breathed in deeply as he looked toward the castle high-atop a cliff that would be his destination. He looked down at the tube he was carrying, shaking it a little as he looked around where he stood.  
  
Several onlookers were starting to stare at him, murmuring amongst themselves as he studied them. A child then ran straight into him, causing the poor kid to fall to the ground before him.  
  
The little boy then stared up at him as he towered over where he stood. Sendrre could only stare down at the boy, unfamiliar with the creature that lay on the ground.  
  
"Erick!"  
  
The boy then looked toward the now gathering crowd where his mother was signaling him to come to her. Sendrre then reached down, picking the boy up by his arm, as gently as he could, before the boy staggered off to meet his mother.  
  
It was at that point, he realized why the onlookers were staring at him; due to his strange appearance. Turning toward one of the onlookers, he motioned for him to approach.  
  
"Volushe skaixa?"  
  
The onlooker could only stare at him. "I'm sorry?"  
  
"Volushe skaixa?"  
  
"I don't understand what you are saying," the man stated. "Are you lost? Did you need help?"  
  
Sendrre then closed his eyes as he concentrated on the words that the man spoke.  
  
"Vallis?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, this is Vallis," the onlooker answered. "Are you a foreigner?"  
  
"Queen Anala, ruler of Vallis, where is her castle?"  
  
"If you want to see the Queen, you'll have to contact one of her court advisors," the man stated. "Are you in need of meeting with her?"  
  
"Yes, how may I contact her?" Sendrre stated as he started to understand the language they spoke. "Who shall I speak to so I can arrange a meeting with her?"  
  
"We don't get much foreigners to our town here," the man stated. "I can take you to our village elder; she should be able to get you to the castle to meet with the Queen."  
  
"I thank you," Sendrre said. "My name is Sendrre."  
  
The man slowly nodded as he looked to the gathering crowd. "In the meantime, lets get you to see her," he said. "Where are you from?"  
  
"Far away," Sendrre stated.  
  
"Oh?" the man stated. "Well, if you will follow me."  
  
Sendrre nodded as the man lead him away from the center of the town.  
  
The young woman watched as the strange man leave with the young man. She then watched as the people who were gathered, slowly disperse, going on with whatever they were doing prior to the intrusion from the strange man. She then pulled up the veil she was wearing and walked toward the edge of the town. Once she reached the edge, she quickly ran toward the forest that was on the outskirts, pressing on a button on the side of her hip. A small space ship then suddenly appeared before her, its cockpit opening. She jumped right into it, before powering the ship up, then blasted off. On her return course...to Doom.  
  



	3. Chapter 02

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Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 2   
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-----Doom -----  
  
The young prince of Doom stared intently as his father met with the dark stranger. He leaned heavily against the pillar he was near as the two men spoke to each other in a strange language he could not understand. What angered him the most, was that his father was more than willing to meet with the strange man who stood before his father, and not include him on the details of the meeting.  
  
"Its not nice to stare, Lotor."  
  
The prince turned abruptly, nearly unsheathing his sword as a young woman emerged from the shadows and stood near him.  
  
Zeya. Hagar's little protege, who had arrived on Doom almost 2 months prior. Lotor had known her when she was young, a kinship developed between them, that surprised even the old king. Knowing Lotor's own anger over the death of his mother, Zarkon wasn't sure of how he would take to Zeya when she was born. Though they had different mothers, Zarkon was their father, and when he had Lotor sent on his way to fulfill his destiny, he sent Zeya to study with the Drule scientists on far away planets. Remarkably, the similarities between brother and sister did not wane over the years. She smiled as he met her gaze and she too turned to see Zarkon speaking with the strange man.  
  
"Damn you, Zeya, I could have just killed you now."  
  
She ignored his retort, as her own attention turned to the two men. "Who is that man?" she asked.  
  
"Someone that father knows," he stated. "I thought you were on a mission for Hagar,"  
  
"I was," she stated. "But the town I was visiting on Vallis became....busy."  
  
"Busy?" Lotor asked.  
  
"Someone caused quite a scene in one of the towns I was visiting," she said. "And strangely enough, the man was dressed similar to this one that father is speaking to. And speaking the same language."  
  
"What?" Lotor asked.  
  
"On Vallis," she said as she looked up to him. "He was asking to be taken to see the Queen, there."  
  
"Strange," Lotor stated. "I guess we'll just have to see what father is up at a later time. Till then, did you get the information I wanted?"  
  
She smiled. "Of course," she stated. "All that you wanted."  
  
"Good," he said. "Until father is free, let's discuss what you have found."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/-- ---------/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/---- -/------  
  
-----Vallis -----  
  
"Are you sure you can handle the trip?" Anala asked as she handed Keith the last of his belongings.  
  
"It's only a 7 hour flight," he stated. "And I have that book you wanted me to give to Allura to look over."  
  
"The one in Arusian?" she asked. "You don't even know..."  
  
Keith looked to her.  
  
"You know Arusian?" she asked.  
  
"I've been studying it since we first landed on Arus," he said. "It was the only thing that kept me busy enough in between the battles we had with Doom's forces."  
  
"Does Allura know you studied it?"  
  
"I don't think so," he said. "I never really told anyone that I was learning the language."  
  
Anala smiled as she watched him close the tote on his bed and laid a small jacket over it.  
  
"Do you have time for that talk?" she asked.  
  
"The one I was supposed to have with you 2 days ago?" he asked.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Yes, my transport wont be here for another 2 hours," he said with a smile. "We have time."  
  
She smiled as she offered her hand to him. "Come, I want to show you something."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/-- ---------/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/---- -/------  
  
Keith looked up at the large mural before him, marveling at the large painting.  
  
"This is Ylren," Anala stated as she stared up at the painting. "He is the god of our people; once a Vallusian; he was gifted with powers that many envied. He decided that his destiny was far more than using it for himself. He served our people well, using what he had to help those that needed his help."  
  
"So this is who Kelar wanted to be?" Keith asked.  
  
"No, Kelar wanted his power," Anala stated. "But what Kelar didn't know, was that no one would obtain his power."  
  
Keith turned to her. "What do you mean?"  
  
Anala took a deep breath as she looked to the painting again.  
  
"I spoke with Allura about what had happened on Lysia," she stated. "Since many of the facts of that evening, still remains a mystery."  
  
"What did she have to say?"  
  
"She basically remembered everything that we saw," Anala stated, "But she also remembered something else. What do you remember?"  
  
"Not much," Keith stated. "As Kelar tried to strangle the life out of me, I grew dizzy; couldn't breathe."  
  
"Did you feel anything? Anything strange?"  
  
"I remember Allura running toward, and Kelar hit her away," he said. "Then I felt this enormous rage; and a sudden cooling."  
  
"Cooling?" she asked.  
  
"That's the best I can describe it," he said. "I felt like I was in a freezer."  
  
Anala slowly nodded. "Allura said that before Kelar disappeared, and the blinding light knocked us all unconscious, she saw Ylren standing in your place," she stated. "Which is why I wanted you to see this painting of him. Does he look familiar to you?"  
  
Keith looked up at the mural again. "In a way, he does," he said. "Though, its more like, I...dreamt of him."  
  
"Allura had come to the conclusion, that you really do not posses all of his powers, as we were led to believe by our own legends," she said. "That what you are is a vessel; a medium through which Ylren can speak with us; engage with us."  
  
"Oh?" Keith asked. "And did you present this notion to the elders?"  
  
She nodded. "And they thought that it was unfounded," she said. "But I did ask that if you did achieve the last rite of Ylren, why do you not display any of the powers he was reported to have possessed?"  
  
"And their answer?"  
  
"They had none," she said. "So I basically told them to give it some thought."  
  
"And what if Allura's conclusion is true?" he asked. "If I am a medium, what will that mean for your people?"  
  
"That they will continue living how they are now," she said. "I will not let the Elders or anyone use you as a prophet to speak to our god; and if the Elders are going to fight me on it, I will fight on your behalf until they see it that keeping you here, will rob you of your only freedom."  
  
Keith smiled as he listened to her. "You know I can fight my own battles," he said. "But I do thank you for the offer."  
  
She smiled. "Ylren has chosen you for a reason, and that reason is only known to him," she stated. "He hasn't chosen to reveal that to us now, and we may never know why. Until such time, you do not belong to Vallis; and we have no right to keep you where you don't want to be."  
  
He took her into a hug. "I know that by my birthright, I should be at your side," he said. "But I will never feel fully at home here."  
  
"I know," she said as she leaned her head against his chest. "Your home is on Arus, where they need you the most."  
  
"I will visit in 3 months time," he said as he pushed her away and held her by her arms. "That way, if anything should happen, I'll be able to consult with you and the Elders on what to do."  
  
Anala nodded. "In the mean time, rest when you can, and don't do anything that I wouldn't do."  
  
"And you know I will be breaking that last promise real quickly," he said with a laugh.  
  
"Yes, I know."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/-----/-- ---------/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/-----/-----/---- -/------  
  
-----Arus -----  
  
Allura breathed in deeply as one of the castle maids went over the last minute details for the Voltron Force Beta Team to be knighted as soldiers under the laws of Arus. Once made Lion Knights, they could fully operate the Voltron Lions without question. Coran was adamant that they follow Arusian tradition to the fullest, though the knight ceremony was supposed to be done by the ruling king of Arus, she had to change tradition a little, this time around, to do the knighting. A duty she had done only once before.  
  
Her attention was then drawn to a small red box that sat on her bureau, tied with a white satin ribbon. A gift she had meant to give, but it's recipient had been away for so long.  
  
"Princess?"  
  
The maid's raised voice snapped her out of her trance. "Coran wants to know if you want the High Bishop of Artal to officiate the ceremony?"  
  
"I believe Bishop Erishia has performed the ceremony before, and I wouldn't want to deprive him of the chance again," Allura stated.  
  
"I'll pass along that suggestion to Coran," she stated. "I think that covers everything we need for the ceremony, princess."  
  
Allura smiled. "Well, then, if you will excuse me, I have other matters to attend to. Lyna, since you've worked so hard on this, why don't you finish up the last minute details and take the rest of the day off?"  
  
"Princess, I'm more than honored to help you with the ceremonial details," the girl said. "And I thank you for the offer."  
  
"My pleasure," Allura stated.  
  
"Araila says that dinner will be promptly served at 7 tonight," Lyna stated as she gathered together her paperwork. "Without Nanny, she's been forced to handle the meal preparations."  
  
"Tell her that we thank her for her efforts, and that I'll be sure to get everyone to dinner on time."  
  
"That'll be splendid, princess," Lyna stated. "Good-day, princess."  
  
"Good day, Lyna," Allura said.  
  
She smiled as the young girl exited her bedroom and the door slid closed behind her. She then fell back onto her bed, closing her eyes as she went over the events of the last few days, then found herself focusing on the events of the last few months. It all had seemed like a roller coaster, and she was glad that Galaxy Garrison sent the back-up team when they did. She had never been more grateful.  
  
The 5 new cadets were as eager as they could be, even under the harsh training, Lance and Hunk were running them through. She smiled knowing that it must have been nothing but a thrill for them as members of a legendary force. To be chosen to serve as pilots of Voltron would have probably made many jealous.  
  
Commander Neive, an Arusian native who had trained at a nearby Galaxy alliance Academy. He grew up in the far away town of Tanuier in the Kingdom of Helena, her Aunt Orla's kingdom, where the old Arusian customs were still apart of their daily lives. One of the very few people on her planet that still read and speaks Arusian. He came highly recommended by Graham for his astute knowledge of combat skills.  
  
Commander LiAnne Brendt, and Earther that Allura had found to be much like a sister to her. She was actually to serve as a backup member of the Vehicle Force, when Graham pulled her to serve under their team. Graham's glowing remarks over her abilities of flying, interested Allura very much; she had bested even Lance's own scores.  
  
Commander Teri Liehn, a Polluxian who came at the suggestion of Romelle. His own intellect could rival that of Pidge. Technical skills aside, he was an asset and the balance the team needed.  
  
Sergeant Shane McNichol, a freshly graduated teen from the Galaxy Alliance Academy on Pelas IV, this was his first assignment. What piqued Allura's interest in the young man was his knowledge of 58 languages.  
  
Commander Katherine Leonheart, their leader. She was the first female pilot to take the command of Voltron. Allura hadn't been able to get to know her as much as the rest of team yet, but she saw a confidence and authority in the young woman that surprised even her. She only hoped that as the team's commander, she could hold her own against a legend.  
  
Allura opened her eyes as she turned onto her side. She spied the small box sitting on her bureau. She then stood and walked over to her dresser and picked it up.  
  
"Well, I guess it would be best if I left it for you."  
  
She headed toward her door and as it slid open, she was caught by surprise by the familiar figure that stood there. Her eyes widened as she stared at the young man who stood before her.  
  
"Keith!?"  
  
He smiled seeing her look of surprise. "I was just about to ring..."  
  
Before he could finish, she threw her arms around him and hugged him as tight as she could. It caught him off guard, but he slowly accepted the embrace.  
  
"It's good to see you too, Ally."  
  



	4. Chapter 03

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 3  
----------------  
  
-----Planet Arus -----  
  
Allura smiled as they walked through the small castle garden. The wind blew lightly through the small area.  
  
"How is your sister doing?"  
  
Keith smiled as he watched her take a seat on a small bench off to the side of the garden. She patted the area next to her as a signal for him to take a seat.  
  
"She's doing fine," he said as he sat down next to her. "She has sent a group of immigrants to Alysia to help with the Vallusians there. Baron Akryl is working with the clones to start up a village. It seems that Alysia will become a valuable source of materials to most of the universe. Other than that, she's doing fine for what she has to do. In her spare time, she's taken up learning some other languages."  
  
"Oh?" Allura asked. "Well, she is going to be a diplomat as well, its good to know as much as you can."  
  
"I think she just is trying to find ways to kill time," he said with a laugh.  
  
"Puseva Pusevu." Allura stated.  
  
"Such the way is life."  
  
Allura looked at him.  
  
"An old Arusian saying," he said.  
  
"How do you know Arusian?"  
  
"When I was given the task of helping Nanny with the Castle Library."  
  
"Oh, you mean that punishment.."  
  
"Task." he stressed.  
  
She smiled. "So you were looking through some of the old books?"  
  
He nodded. "Its not a hard language to learn."  
  
"Neive has been re-teaching me some of the language," she stated. "I haven't had the chance to use it since I was a child."  
  
"Neive?"  
  
Allura then stood. "The Beta team," she said. "You haven't had the chance to meet them yet."  
  
"Oh," he said. "And how is the new team doing?'  
  
"Very well, actually," Allura stated. "Lance has been watching over their training, and I think the novelty has finally worn off for them."  
  
"Have they seen combat?'  
  
"Just once," Allura stated, "And Kit stayed behind while Lance took the helm."  
  
"Kit?"  
  
"Katherine," Allura stated. "Commander Katherine Leonheart."  
  
"So is she in command of the Beta team?"  
  
Allura nodded. "She's came highly recommended by Graham," she said.  
  
Keith smiled as he nodded. "And how long was before Lance started hitting on her?"  
  
"Keith!" Allura exclaimed. "How could you even think that?"  
  
"Well, how long?"  
  
"Pidge won the bet, this time around," Allura said with a smile. "16 hours."  
  
"Typical Lance," Keith said.  
  
"When you are settled in, I can arrange so that you can see the team," Allura said. "And, in the meantime, happy belated birthday."  
  
Allura pulled out the small gift she was carrying and handed it to him.  
  
"Ally, you didn't have to."  
  
"Nanny and Coran insisted," Allura stated. "It would hurt my feelings if you refused, after all it took for me to get it for you."  
  
"Thank you," he said. "What is it?"  
  
"Something special," she stated.  
  
He unwrapped the small box and opened it. On the inside laid a small folded picture frame. He lifted it up and opened it.  
  
In one panel, there was a picture of his parents when he was still a baby. The same picture they had found in his foster father's chest. In the middle was a picture of him and his foster father, and at that time, Captain Graham, on the day he had graduated from the Galaxy Alliance Academy. The third was a recent picture, taken on Vallis, with his mother and his sister. The last was empty.  
  
"Your mother sent me the last picture," Allura stated. "And Admiral Graham sent me the 2nd one. Lance found a shop on Earth, that had the frame, and Hunk fashioned the edging and material."  
  
"I can't even say how much this means to me, Ally," he said.  
  
"Nanny kept on remarking." she then turned away from his gaze. "That is, until she realized that."  
  
"I never really had a family?" he asked.  
  
She nodded. "And that you realized that you really did," she said. "Now you have something to place on that empty bureau of yours."  
  
"And this last one is empty?"  
  
She smiled. "For your future family," she said.  
  
He folded the frame and put it back into the box.  
  
"Family is important to my people," she said.  
  
"Ally, I can't thank you enough," he said. "This means a great deal to me."  
  
"Your return to Arus, means a great deal to all of us," she said. "We were concerned that."  
  
"I may not return?"  
  
"But I knew that you would," she said. "Deep down, I knew you wouldn't leave us; leave Arus."  
  
"I promised that I would never leave Arus, unless it was vital," he stated. "Arus is my home now. I will never leave those that I care for."  
  
She smiled "And I did mean what I said. You will always have a home here."  
  
"I know that I do."  
  
An uncomfortable silence fell between them and Allura smiled finding it a bit awkward.  
  
"Maybe it's time that you meet the Beta Team," she suggested as she turned toward the Castle.  
  
"Ally."  
  
She turned to him, seeing that he had grabbed her hand.  
  
"I hope that, you are not uncomfortable with."  
  
She stood silent for a moment, but slowly rested her free hand on his that was holding hers.  
  
"It doesn't change who you are Keith," she said. "As long as it doesn't make you uncomfortable, you are still important to us; to everyone. I know that it's a little difficult. And though you have kept that secret from us, you had your reasons to, and I respect that decision. If you let it bother you, then you must do what is right."  
  
He slowly stood, as he continued to hold her hand with his.  
  
"There are many things that I still need to come to terms with," he said. "And a new responsibility."  
  
"And I'm sure that you will handle them as they come," she said. "You've never let me down."  
  
"I just want to assure you, that I'm as devoted to Arus as I always have been.," he said. "I've sworn my life to protecting this beautiful planet, it's people.always."  
  
"We will confront each problem as they come," she said. "Together, as we always have."  
  
He then brushed his hand across her cheek.  
  
"Even if I have to protect you from myself?"  
  
She could only stare at him, pondering what he would mean by that statement. She then realized the distance between them grew closer, and she closed her eyes as she leaned her head into the hand at the side of her face. It felt so warm.  
  
The sudden sound of someone clearing their throat, caught her by surprised and she quickly pulled away from Keith.  
  
"As much as I hated to intrude, but we got an incoming transmission from Galaxy Garrison." It was Lance.  
  
"Galaxy Garrison?" Allura aksed. She then gasped. "Oh my, I totally forgot."  
  
"The Yadrasil meeting," Lance stated. "Admiral Graham is waiting."  
  
Allura nodded. "I'll see you both later," she said. "Thank you Lance..good day, Keith."  
  
Lance smiled as he watched as the usually calm Allura, as flustered as she was, head back to the Castle. He then turned to his friend and saw that he was looking over the gift.  
  
"Glad to have you back," he stated. "Those new recruits have been driving me nuts."  
  
Keith looked up to him. "Oh?" he asked. "Allura said you were having fun playing captain."  
  
"You can keep the job," Lance said as he crosses his arms. "Well from tomorrow on, you get to have them all to yourself."  
  
Keith smiled as he joined his friend. "It's good to see you again, as well, Lance."  
  
Lance then looked at his long time friend. "How are you doing otherwise?"  
  
"The same."  
  
"Yeah, and my uncle is a monkey," Lance said. "We missed you."  
  
"I missed all of you."  
  
"I'm glad that everything worked out for you."  
  
"Lance?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Can you tell me what happened?"  
  
"On Alysia?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What did Anala tell you?"  
  
"She didn't say much," he said.  
  
"Well..your doppleganger.Kelar," he started. "It was much like what happened on Vallis.  
  
"You were knocked unconscious, for a moment and them some kind of light.I guess it was a type of aura, surrounded you. Then this invisible force grabbed Kelar and a bright light surround him.  
  
"It was blinding, and a sudden force started to push against us," he continued. "Xue did what he could, but the light was so blinding. Then when the room settled, Kelar was gone, you were standing where we once stood, and you had this look...your eyes were white-overed."  
  
Lance then looked at him. "The odd thing was, you had two sets of wings."  
  
"Two sets?"  
  
Lance nodded. "It was quite strange," he said. "You then collapsed and at that point, Xue took you and Anala back to your lion, with all of use wondering what had happened. It was at that time, Anala radioed me saying they were taking you back to Vallis."  
  
"I can't remember anything that happened," Keith said. "The last thing I remember was Kelar choking the life out of me after he shot me."  
  
"Allura ran to your side as soon as you collapsed." Lance said,. "But Xue and Anala moved in quickly and Baron Akryl pulled you away."  
  
Keith nodded slowly as he looked back toward the castle.  
  
"Lance, I'm going to ask you a really big favor," he said, then turned to him. "And I hope that I can trust you to do it for me, no matter the situation."  
  
"Hey, buddy, you know I'll be there for you."  
  
"Thanks."  
  



	5. Chapter 04

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 4  
----------------  
  
-----Planet Arus -----  
  
Katherine let out a sigh as she looked over the file she was reading. Her exasperation caught the attention of her teammate, Neive, who was also working on some files of his own.  
  
"Now, now, Kit," he said as he looked up to her and smiled, his green eyes sparkled as he watched his flustered commander.  
  
"Why must we do all of these?" she asked as she threw her arms on the table before her and rested her head on them.  
  
Neive smiled to himself as he stood and walked over to her.  
  
"Well, we have a whole bunch more to go through," he stated as he seated himself in a chair next to her. "You know it's not all flying, fighting and practicing."  
  
She looked to him. "I know," she said. "I just hate doing this paperwork."  
  
"Well, after tomorrow, we won't have half this amount of paperwork to do," he said. "We'll be full fledged Lion Knights."  
  
"You know that this is the one odd thing about this kingdom."  
  
"That is?"  
  
"How many Lion Knights are there exactly?'  
  
Neive's smile disappeared. "Kit, you should know that."  
  
She stared at him. "I mean, besides the original Voltron Force, aren't there any others?"  
  
"Most of them have died," Neive stated as he collected the papers together. "Long time ago."  
  
Katherine looked at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that it was."  
  
"No, no," he stated. "You just didn't know."  
  
"How many Lion Knights did exist at the pinnacle of this kingdom?"  
  
"About 4000 at one time," he stated. "Now, there are 5."  
  
"Did you know anyone who was a Lion Knight?" she asked.  
  
Neive slowly nodded. "My father," he said. "He served under King Alfor doing what he loved."  
  
"And then Zarkon?"  
  
"Yeah," he said. He then turned to her. "I'm just hoping that he is proud that I'm following in his footsteps."  
  
"Why wouldn't he be?"  
  
"He was the only one who was against my assignment to serve as a part of the Voltron Force," he said. "It was the hardest thing I had to do, but I knew that I had to do this for Arus."  
  
"He probably just was concerned that you were heading into something he thought you wouldn't be able to handle."  
  
"He probably was," he said.  
  
"Actually, there were, 4,355 Lion Knights at the height of King Alfor's reign on Arus."  
  
The two of them then looked up was caught by surprise to see the young captain of the main Voltron Force standing before them. Neive gasped as he quickly stood from his chair.  
  
"Captain Hayashi," he said with a salute.  
  
Katherine smiled to herself, not bothering to even stand to greet the captain. Neive turned to her with a look of questioning.  
  
"At ease," Keith said as he walked over to where they were. "You're off duty, remember?"  
  
"Yes, sir," Neive stated.  
  
Katherine smiled seeing her teammate make a complete ass of himself in front of the captain.  
  
"You must be Neive?" Keith asked.  
  
"Yes, sir," Neive answered. "Actually, Nay-vah."  
  
"Ah yes, I always forget that," Keith stated as his gaze then turned to the young woman.  
  
"And you are?"  
  
Katherine smiled as she stood and walked around the large table to where he stood.  
  
"And if I don't tell you, what would happen?"  
  
"That would be considered insubordination," he stated. "Even if you're off duty."  
  
"Kit, stop playing games," Neive stated.  
  
"Insubordination?" Katherine asked. "But, I don't give my name to just anyone."  
  
"KIT!"  
  
"And what if I told Uncle Jack, just exactly the kind of attitude you have?"  
  
Katherine smiled. "Hey, no fair!" she nearly yelled. "You know how much father adores you."  
  
"Your father?" Neive asked. "Kat, what is going on?"  
  
Katherine then smiled as he turned to Neive. "Neive, I want you to meet my cousin, Captain Keith Hayashi."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
"Cousin?"  
  
"Why is that such a shocker to everyone?" Katherine asked as she took a seat on the long couch in the Rec Room. "He's not a direct cousin. He was adopted by my great uncle."  
  
"But still!" Lianne exclaimed. "The members of the Voltron Force are like celebrities."  
  
"You wouldn't think so highly of the captain, if you knew half the stunts he used to pull as a kid," Katherine stated.  
  
Lianne smiled. "So, is he as cute as they say he is?"  
  
"Lianne, your mind is always in the gutter," Shane stated.  
  
"Eewww," Kit stated as she hugged a couch pillow to herself. "That's like gross, Lianne."  
  
"Remember, Kit, Lianne would jump anything that had two legs and wore tight leather pants," Neive stated. "And you can't ask Kit that kind of question, Lianne. She'd be the last person to ask an opinion for."  
  
"So, what?" Lianne asked. "She's still a woman. She can still judge."  
  
"I give up," Neive stated as he seated himself on a couch across from Lianne.  
  
"In a gross kinda way, I guess some people would think he's cute." Katherine stated and then, after a moment, she shook her head. "No, that just doesn't work for me."  
  
"Kit, you're impossible." Lianne stated.  
  
"Don't you know, Lianne?" Shane said as he walked over to where they were now gathering. "Kit's idea of the perfect man would be someone who would bow to every one of her whims."  
  
"No," Katherine stated, and then smiled. "He'd have to defeat me in a hand-to-hand combat."  
  
"And this coming from the girl who whooped everyone's butts back at the academy?" Shane asked. "Is there anyone who has beaten you?"  
  
"Just one," she said. "And he doesn't count."  
  
"Figures." Shane stated.  
  
"And Lianne, you'd best look elsewhere anyway," Neive added. "Rumor has it, he's already spoken for."  
  
"Spoken for?" Katherine asked. "Oh, do tell."  
  
Neive smiled. "Well, its more speculation..really, I shouldn't."  
  
"Hey, I told you he was my cousin." Katherine stated. "I need more ammo if I need to blackmail him in the future."  
  
"Well, the rumors are that he and the princess have something going for each other."  
  
"The princess?" Lianne asked. "You mean, our princess? The princess Allura?"  
  
"No, the princess of Doom," Neive stated.  
  
"So why is it only a rumor?" Lianne asked.  
  
"Cause, no one has ever seen them..you know.."  
  
"Intimate?"  
  
"Well, yeah, that," he said. "But you know, they never, like shown any type of affection toward each other."  
  
"Then if no one has seen it, how did the rumor start?'  
  
"Don't know," Neive stated. "But in my home town, it was all the buzz for a while."  
  
"A princess and her knight," Lianne stated. "Wouldn't that be against tradition?"  
  
"Well, we didn't care," Neive stated. "I don't think anyone on Arus cares either..only Coran and Nanny."  
  
Katherine smiled "Yes, I would assume they would have their objections."  
  
Neive then looked at her. "So, no more discussing this, okay?"  
  
"Our lips are sealed."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
"No headaches?"  
  
Keith nodded as he stared at the monitor before him.  
  
"None," he said as he seated himself in front of the communications console in his room. "Keryn still has no idea why I passed out?"  
  
"None," Anala answered. "But, he did say that you should take it easy, and to report back in a week."  
  
"I will," he said.  
  
"And how is to be back home?"  
  
"I missed it," he said with a smile. "Allura gave me a nice birthday present."  
  
"Oh?" she asked.  
"When you visit, I'll show it to you."  
  
"And how is she doing?"  
  
"Busy now that we have the backup team," he said. "Nanny and Coran thought it would be nice to give her more duties concerning Arus. There are several trade and land disputes she had been neglecting to look over."  
  
Anala nodded. "And the team?"  
  
"Doing well as it seems," Keith stated. "Lance is thoroughly enjoying the chance to boss people around."  
  
"I'm sure he is," Anala said with a smile. Her expression then turned to one of seriousness. "And how are you doing?'  
  
"Fine," he said.  
  
"Keith, I know when you're lying," she said. "My senses may not be as sharp as yours, but I can tell when you're hiding something."  
  
"I'm just exhausted, that's all," he said.  
  
"If it's about Allura.."  
  
"Anala, please, its not what you think."  
  
"When are you going to stop thinking that you're not on equal ground as her?" she asked. "You are a pri--."  
  
"And I wasn't one a year ago," he said.  
  
"And do you honestly think she really cares otherwise?'  
  
"Anala, I did not call to talk about this."  
  
"And when do you want to talk about it?"  
  
"Anala."  
  
"She loves you."  
  
The statement caught him off guard as he stared back at her, speechless.  
  
"She always had, and every time she wants to get close to you, you retreat away as if showing your feelings is a sign of weakness."  
  
"Anala, you shouldn't."  
  
"And you shouldn't think that you are weak because of what you feel."  
  
He remained silent for a moment. "I'm not worth of her love, Anala," he stated. "Especially when there are men better than me."  
  
"Why don't you let her make that decision?"  
  
"I am not going to argue with you on this.."  
  
"Do you love her?" was her final question.  
  
"Goodbye, Anala."  
  
"Do you?"  
  
Before he answered, he pressed a button on the console as the screen went black. He let out a sigh as he walked over to his bed and laid down on it.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
Allura leaned heavily against the wall just outside of Keith's bedroom. She was just about to deliver some papers to him from Galaxy Garrison and saw that his door was open. Just before she was about to knock, she had her name. And without any intent, she found herself listening in on the conversation.  
  
"Do you love her?"  
  
She had held her breath at that moment, almost afraid to hear the answer.  
  
But it never came.  
  
She breathed in deeply. And as quietly as she could she backtracked the way she came, which she only ended up walking right into Lance.  
  
"Princess?"  
  
"Lance," Allura stated. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you."  
  
"Well, its kinda hard seeing if I was here, since you were walking backwards," he said. "What are you doing sneaking around in our area?"  
  
"I wasn't sneaking.."  
  
"Okay, snooping."  
  
"I was about to deliver these papers to Keith," she said as she waved the bundle in her hands.  
  
"Walking backwards?"  
  
Allura let out a grunt and then handed him the papers. "Could you get these to him," she said. "Graham wants them returned later today."  
  
"Why don't you just."  
  
"Lance, please?" she asked.  
  
Lance looked at her and then past her to where Keith's room was. He kinda thought that something got her agitated enough that she wouldn't do this on her own.  
  
"Alright," he said. "But you owe me for this."  
  
"Thanks Lance," she said. "Remember later today."  
  
"I'll let him know," Lance said.  
  
"Thanks!"  
  
He then watched as she walked pass him.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
"Heya buddy,"  
  
Keith sat up on his bed, noticing Lance standing in the frame of his doorway.  
  
"Heya," he said. "I thought I heard voices in the hallway."  
  
"Yeah, I just bumped into Coran on the way, and he told me to give you these papers from Graham."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"And Kit and I will be going down to Tratim to collect some supplies for Nanny," he said. "Just so you know where we are."  
  
Keith nodded as he stood and took the papers from him.  
  
"Remember, Lance, no messing around kay?"  
  
"Me, I'd never," Lance stated.  
  
Keith smiled. "Be sure to get back in time for dinner," he said.  
  
"We will," he said. "Catch you later."  
  
Keith nodded as Lance left his room and he looked over the papers. He waved his hand over the door panel and it slid close behind him. He looked over the papers gain, before sitting down before his communication panel.  
  
"Coran, can you contact Graham for me?"  
  
"Yes Keith, will it be private?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I should have him on in a few."  
  
Keith nodded as he looked one last time over the papers.  
  
REQUEST FOR CHANGE OF COMMISSION STATUS.  
  
And in red, HONORABLE DISCHARGE had been checked.  
  



	6. Chapter 05

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 5   
----------------  
  
-----Arus-----  
  
Allura laid the old book down on the table before her, as Neive then slowly opened it carefully. His eyes widened at the old writing that was penned inside.  
  
"Where did you get this?" he asked.  
  
"It was found on Vallis, and Queen Anala was kind enough to send it back with Keith for us," she stated. "Probably acquired by one of the raids that Zarkon had on Arus, and that ship was intercepted by Kelar's forces."  
  
"It's an amazing find, your highness," Neive stated. He looked over the binding as well as the spine and cover. "This was definitely made by the great historians who once worked in the city of Modena; the binding on this book is definitely their signature work. Even the intricate designs in the leather."  
  
"What else can you get from this book?"  
  
"Well, knowing who made the book can help us determine when it was made," Neive stated. He closed the cover and looked at the beautiful scripted writing on the front, significant of the old style of writing, common at the time. "It's probably as old as your own kingdom, Princess."  
  
"2400 years?"  
  
"Whomever had it before it was stolen took very special care of this book," he stated. "Something special must have been written in it."  
  
"That's what I want to know," Allura stated. "And maybe a reason why."  
  
"Well, the inscription here says, 'The Book of Argos'," he said as he then opened the cover and turned to the first handwritten page. "Wow."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Would it be alright if we could get Pidge to come up and see this?" Neive asked as he looked to her.  
  
"I'm sure he is not busy, what is it?"  
  
"The writing within this book is written in very old Arusian, but I can translate it, though there are some instances that will probably cause me some trouble. Though, the reason I ask for Pidge's help is this is a book of starcharts."  
  
"Starcharts?"  
  
Neive nodded. "Actually, the way its written in this book, whomever wrote it, sounds as if they are telling the story of someone who visited Arus, 2400 years ago."  
  
"Visited?" Allura asked. "You mean, aliens?"  
  
Neive nodded. "The book starts off with the author explaining where the individual came from; a planet far from here." He turned the page and then followed the handwritten writing with his fingers. "Wow, this is really old useage of Arusian."  
  
"What does it say?"  
  
"The author, seems to have been very interested in the individual, so much as referring it in a 'familiar' terms; like a brother or sister. I'll read straight from the passage here--"  
  
Neive cleared his throat as his hands followed the intricate writing.  
  
" ' From what I can understand of this strange visitor is that he was sent out by his peers to explore the vast galaxy, in a time on his own home world, war was at the heart of his leaders' minds. Dignitaries were sent in search of civilizations advanced enough to understand the intricacies of something called space travel. But this visitor's mission was cut short when his own ship crashed landed here on Arus. ' "  
  
"Crash landed?"  
  
"It goes on," Neive stated. "He did not go into detail of where he came from, but promised, that his words, shall help our own civilization, not make the same mistakes his own people had done."  
  
"Did he name the planet?"  
  
"Argos," Neive stated. "The planet was named Argos."  
  
Allura slowly nodded. "So this must be his telling of what happened on his planet," she stated. "And what he has discovered while on his mission of peace."  
  
"Which he had the fortunate accident of landing here on Arus," Neive stated.  
  
"Neive, could you continue to translate what you can of the book?" Allura asked. "I'll have Pidge work with you on the starcharts."  
  
"It'll be my pleasure, Princess," he stated. "But may I ask why such an interest?"  
  
Allura smiled. "It seems that if the leaders of this planet Argos did send out several dignitaries in search of those that could communicate a message of peace, they could have sent them to other planets within our system."  
  
"That would be logical," Neive stated.  
  
"Queen Anala, also has in possession a similar book," Allura stated. "Written probably, as well, just as long ago."  
  
"You think that one of the dignitaries also left their calling on Vallis?"  
  
"It seems so," she said. "The book that Anala showed me, showed the same starmap to an unknown planet, but charted from her own."  
  
"If Pidge and I can figure out between the two maps...."  
  
Allura met his gaze. "We can find out where this Argos is."  
  
Neive slowly nodded. "And what happened to it."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Doom-----  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
Zeya slowly nodded as she looked among the dusty shelves of the quiet study they were in.   
  
"You told me that you found it odd that he would be making a visit to Vallis every other week, and I know that the Galaxy Alliance, doesn't normally send someone that often to check up on one of its new acquisitions," she stated as she eyed a book. She then pulled it off the shelf and slowy flipped through it. "Then all of sudden he disappears for months while his team members train a back-up team."  
  
"So, this Queen Anala of Vallis is his sister?" Lotor asked as he poured himself a glass of cognac.  
  
"Seems so," she stated. "I couldn't get much more than that."  
  
Lotor nodded as he downed his drink and eyed his sister. "I've been wondering, why it seems, that this Vallis is so special," he stated. "Like, I've been there before."  
  
"You did have a couple of run-ins with their last leader, did you not?" Zeya asked as she put the book she held back into its place.  
  
"Yes, Kelar," Lotor stated. "But I've never set foot on Vallis while he was in power."  
  
Zeya looked at him. "Maybe you have."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Did you not state that there was period of time, not so long ago, that you couldn't account for what you did, or where you were?"  
  
"Yes, but how did..."  
  
Zeya then bit her lower lip as she walked away from the shelves. "There is a strange immortal man who keeps watch over the Queen, whenever she goes out into public," she said. "I remember reading up on creatures who once flourished on Vallis that possessed great power, that could rival even the sect of witchcraft that Hagar comes from. The only problem was they could only use their power while under the employ of the masters."  
  
"What kind of power?"  
  
"Anything," she stated. "He does keep guard over her, and I've only seen her once without him in escort."  
  
"Do you think that he is responsible for that time I seem to have lost?"  
  
"It's possible," she said. "That you were and witnessed something that they did not want you to remember?"  
  
"Like this Queen being the sister of our Voltron Captain?"  
  
"Among others," she stated. "I don't know exactly what kind of spell they used on you to make you forget, but Im sure its something that can be reversed."  
  
"Zeya, find out as much as you can on this Vallis, other than what you have observed so far," Lotor stated. "I want to know what happened the 9 months ago, and what kind of weaknesses their forces have."  
  
"And what of that creature?"  
  
"Im sure there are ways to get around him," he stated. "If we can't exploit what we know of Vallis, we can still use their Queen as a bait against the Voltron Force."  
  
"I will consult with Hagar on what she can get from her dark arts," Zeya stated.  
  
"Good," he said. "I want to find out what in Doom is going on."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Vallis-----  
  
Anala looked over the book she was reading, trying to make do with the old language that she had not seen since she herself was a young child. She then gave up on the task as she stood up from her seat and placed the book down on the table before her. She straightened out the jumpsuit she wore, as a light knock came at her study's door.  
  
"Come in," she called out.  
  
She smiled as she watched Xue enter her study and he smiled.  
  
"Mayor Fuarte of Ikon is here with a dignitary who has asked for your audience, Anala," he stated. "He seemed very urgent in his request."  
  
"Oh?" Anala asked as she turned to him. "Where is this dignitary from?"  
  
"Fuarte didn't mention, but he stated that the young man was found roaming around Ikon," he said.  
  
"I hope that it's nothing serious," Anala stated. "But if he is here to see me, I cannot refuse a request."  
  
"I'll escort you down to the foyer," he stated.  
  
She nodded as she linked her arm with Xue's as they walked out of her study. The walk to the foyer was a short one, and Anala smiled as she saw Fuarte standing there, making some conversation with the man who stood near him.  
  
"Mayor Fuarte," Xue said as they approached.  
  
Anala smiled at the mayor as he bowed slightly to her.  
  
"It's been a while, Fuarte," she stated. "How is your wife these days?"  
  
"She's expecting twins coming this harvest season," the man stated. "First ever set in both our families."  
  
"Well, send her my dearest congratulations," Anala stated.   
  
"I will, your highness," he stated. "However, I wish you to meet Sendrre. He was asking around our town to have an audience with you."  
  
Anala nodded as she turned to the young man who stood at Fuarte's side. Though, as she met the man's gaze as he stepped foward, a sudden feeling of fear filled her senses. Her smile disappeared as he neared.  
  
"And what brings you to our humble planet?" she heard Xue ask.  
  
"I've come on behalf of my elder, to give a message," the man stated, a strange accent in his speech.  
  
"Elder?" Xue asked.  
  
Anala could only stare at the young man; she wanted so much to suddenly scream at that moment, but could not find her voice to do so. The man stepped forward again as he pulled out a silver tube from under the cloak he wore.   
  
"This was to be presented to the Magistrate," the man stated. "I take it that must be you."  
  
"Yes," Xue stated as the man then handed him the tube. "What is this concerning?"  
  
"All is explained in the message," he said.  
  
"Xue..." Anala stated.  
  
"And all will be revealed when you come to Argos."  
  
"Argos?" Xue asked.  
  
But before any of them could react, the young man raised his hand toward Xue, as an invisible force sent the immortal flying back, hitting the stone pillar behind him. Anala stood, frozen as she watched him fall to his knees after the blow. She turned around as he did the same to Fuarte.  
  
"I do not wish to hurt you, your higness," the man stated. "If you come without fighting."  
  
"Who are you?" she asked.  
  
"Who we are is not important," he said as he walked up to her. "What we do is."  
  
He then grabbed her by her arms, pulling her against him and as he raised his cloak to cover them both, they both disappeared.  
  
"ANALA!!!"  
  



	7. Chapter 06

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 6  
----------------  
  
-----Arus-----  
  
Pidge looked over the roughly sketched starmap that was in the book and Allura pulled up the one that Anala had sent her. Pidge compared the two maps together and then stared up at the view screen before him of the known system around them.  
  
"Neive, what else does the book say about this planet?"   
  
Neive looked through the book deciphering the hand written passages. "The visitor did once try to show me, of where he came from, the unknown planet called Argos," he read. "To the night sky, one autumn evening, he pointed to a faint star, low on the horizon, nearly a span in distance from the brightest, known as Aranadine; on that one clear night, he spoke very little of the planet he once called home."  
  
"Aranadine?" Neive asked.  
  
"Why does that name sound familiar?"  
  
"Well, he did mention, low on the horizon, right?" Pidge asked. "In Arus' autumn?"  
  
Neive nodded as Pidge then typed furiously at the panel before him.  
  
"We'll let the computer figure this one out, since we are looking at 2400 years ago, some of the stars and systems have moved or disappeared."  
  
They watched the view screen before them shifted the planets in accordance with the young boy's calculations.   
  
"Where did you say that this book would have been kept when it was written?" Pidge asked.  
  
"The city of Modena, but it doesn't exist today," Neive stated.  
  
"What hemisphere was it in?"  
  
"Arus' northern hemisphere, near the Great Sand Lake," Neive said.  
  
Pidge typed in the new information and let the computer compute the placement of the planets.   
  
"Now this would represent what we would have seen if we were already in space," Pidge stated. "Now, we apply the information from this map as if we were looking from Arus to the sky, around where Modena was."  
  
The screen changed, to mimic the night sky. He then fed the computer the names of the planets that were used in the book and then used that to tell the computer to give their present day names.  
  
The name of the planet mentioned from the manuscript was clearly labeled and soon, as the computer recalculated Pidge's information and bring the map up to present day status, the name of the Planet then blinked in red.  
  
Allura stood up as she stared at the small blip on the screen.  
  
"Planet Doom."  
  
Suddenly, the door to the study slid open, flooding the dimly lit room with the light that came in from the hallway. Coran stood there, wearing an expression as if something wrong had happened.  
  
"Princess," Coran stated. "Incoming emergency call from Vallis, it's Queen Anala."  
  
"What is it?" she asked.  
  
"She's been kidnapped."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Control Room-----  
  
"Im trying to get it back up."  
  
Keith stood over the shoulder of the Arusian guard who was trying to re-establish communications with Vallis.  
  
"Whatever you do, try not to lose the signal," Keith stated. "We have to find out what happened."  
  
"I'll do my best, sir," the guard stated.  
  
The doors to the control room slid open as Allura quickly ran up to the control panel to see what was going on.  
  
"We just lost the signal with Vallis," Keith stated.  
  
"Sir, the signal is bouncing back to us," the guard reported. "It's as if some kind of electrical field is preventing any type of communication."  
  
"What?" Allura asked.  
  
The doors to the control room slid open again as the rest of the Voltron Force and the Beta Team entered the control room.   
  
"Sir!"  
  
Keith turned back to the guard as he answered one of the signals from the control panel.  
  
"Detecting an unauthorized presence in the lower levels," he stated. "It's moving fast."  
  
"What?" Keith asked as he leaned over the guard. "Where is it headed?"  
  
"Straight here, sir," the guard answered.  
  
"Guard the doors!" Coran ordered.  
  
The control room doors started to slide close as four guards prepared for any intruder that would try to enter. But before the doors closed completely, something zipped pass them, and whatever it did, the four guards were now lying on the ground before them.  
  
Keith stepped away from the control panel, as he stood before Allura as whatever had entered the room could not be seen. Lance reacted by withdrawing his weapon, but Keith ordered him to holster.  
  
"Sir, signal to Vallis is finally coming through," the guard behind him announced.  
  
Xue's frantic face filled the view screen of the control room as the members of both Voltron Force scanned the room for the unseen intruder.  
  
"Keith, whatever you do, protect the princess!" Xue nearly yelled before the screen exploded before them.  
  
Keith shielded Allura from the flying debris, as sparks rained down on them. He then slowly stood as everyone then stared to the middle of the room where a lone figure stood, wearing a dark cloak.  
  
Allura got to her feet as she too then noticed the cloaked stranger.  
  
"Who are you?" Coran demanded. "How dare you.."  
  
The stranger then lowered the hood of the cloak, to reveal a young tanned-skinned woman with eerily cold grey eyes. She turned to Coran, who now stood speechless.  
  
"Malora telvin Ayate Allura?" she asked.  
  
Neive suddenly stepped forward. "Malora telvin?" he asked.  
  
"What is it?" Katherine asked.   
  
"She's speaking Arussian," he stated. "She just asked where is Princess Allura."  
  
The woman then turned to him as she kept her gray eyes on his.  
  
"Melte vuniz wynet iiuve alesr mednea trise," she said.  
  
"I am here to deliver a message," he said.  
  
"Ayate Allura."  
  
"To Princess Allura."  
  
"What business do you have here?" Lance demanded. "Why do you attack us?"  
  
The woman then turned to him. Without so much as a change in her expression, she held out her arm in his direction, cupping her hand and slowly lifted. The action was met with Lance's own gasping as he was suddenly lifted 2 feet off the ground as he struggled to breathe.  
  
"Hwewve kyuupi nevare mentela nieve," she said.  
  
"Do not attempt to anger me further," Neive translated.  
  
"Fellars kepu, keputai ni philar nemte kilarme nisen ihiand loadic," she said.  
  
"You must be subjected to a trial, to determine your worth," Neive again translated.  
  
"Our worth?" Katherine asked.  
  
"Stop it!"  
  
Allura stepped forward as the woman then turned to her. "I am Princess Allura, and this is my castle that you have invaded."  
  
The woman's grey gaze then met with hers as she continued to hold Lance by an invisible force.  
  
"Monea idaodia ndiald ialdiah mduand oaldnai. Dialnai oldaic ialidt laocnio ciiola," the woman stated. "Alamnte kilaris kdal Ylren."  
  
"Your planet has not been tested as of yet. Your bravest of knights must be tested," Neive translated. "And so does the power of...Ylren?"  
  
"Ylren?" Keith asked.  
  
The woman then turned to him. "Vir'ase, Ylren." she stated.  
  
"What did she just say?" Katherine asked.  
  
"I dont know," Neive said. "She's not speaking Arussian."  
  
"" If you are trully, Ylren, young one, you will understand what I am saying. ""  
  
Keith looked at her in shock. She smiled. "" So it is true, you have returned. ""  
  
"Keith," Allura said.  
  
He held his hand up to her as he again faced the strange woman.  
  
"What have you done with my sister?"  
  
"" She will be fine, "" the woman stated. "" But in order for you to see her again, you must come to Argos. ""  
  
"Argos?" Keith asked.  
  
The woman then released Lance as he crumpled to the floor. Neive and Hunk rushed to him as they helped him to his feet, coughing to breathe again. She then reached into her robes and pulled out a silver tube, and tossed the object toward where Allura was standing. Keith instead caught the message as Allura continued to stare at the woman.  
  
"Follow the message, Princess of Arus," the woman stated. "You must be on Argos, by sundown of the next Arusian day."  
  
"Argos?" Allura asked.  
  
The woman then disappeared, catching them off-guard, but soon reappeared near where Katherine was standing, and immediately grabbed her and held her by her neck.  
  
"You have 1 day to comply."  
  
She then brought her cloak up and soon, both were gone.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Doom-----  
  
Zeya leaned against the pane of the window as she sat on it's sill as Lotor read over her report.  
  
"Are you sure?" was all that he asked when he finished.  
  
"It didn't take much to get this information," she said as she stood. "They are a race of angels as it seems."  
  
"That is putting it mildly," Lotor stated.   
  
"And also that incident with the Captain 3 months ago," she said. "It was so detriment to him that Galaxy Garrision put him on extended leave, until he returned," she said as she grabbed the report from him. "And now, they've sent a discharge request."  
  
"Discharge?"  
  
"Some human rite to say they will not be a part of military service anymore," she stated. "He would become just an ordinary citizen, of any planet, should he choose."  
  
"And why would the Galaxy Alliance want to request a discharge?"  
  
"I think it has to do with the added responsibilities he's suddenly earned, that is, after learning of his true birthright," she stated. "If anything should happen to his sister, he would secede to the throne of Vallis."  
  
Lotor looked up at her and then stood from where he was sitting.  
  
"This does complicate things a bit, doesn't it?" he asked. "If both siblings are lost, who would rule Vallis in their place?"  
  
"Their mother, it would seem until, at which point, the people would vote in their next leader."  
  
"Good work, Zeya," he stated. "Who did you have to torture to get this information?"  
  
"Not so much torture," she said as she looked at him. "I've had an informant on Vallis for quite a while now, and one in the top ranks of the Galaxy Alliance. With the right coercion, I was able to get the information I needed."  
  
Lotor smiled. "Now, if we can use this information we have, we can develop a great strategy to get rid of the Voltron Force."  
  
"Sorry, sire."  
  
Zeya and Lotor looked to the door as a young slave girl stood there.  
  
"Your father wishes to see the both of you." she stated.  
  
Zeya looked to her brother. "Well that's a first," Zeya stated. "He has so much said all of ten words to me upon my return, and now he wants to see me?"  
  
"Be happy; he has more than 1000 words to say to me on a daily basis," he stated.  
  
"Well, let's see what the old coot wants."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Doom Throne Room-----  
  
Lotor and Zeya entered the throne room just as Zarkon stood. The old king then signlaed for the guards to open the doors to the throne room.  
  
The strange old man that they had seen a couple of days prior entered, who was then followed by tow other younger people. Behind the three, two young women were escorted in by Zarkon's guards.  
  
Zeya placed her hand on Lotor's arm as she stared at one of the women who was shackled.  
  
"That's her," she said.  
  
Lotor spied the young raven haired woman who was followed behind another girl, whom he had come to know as the commander of the Voltron Beta Team.  
  
"That's Anala," Zeya insisted.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked.  
  
"Yes," she said. "And that dark skinned man, I saw him on Vallis before I left."  
  
"Roaman," King Zarkon greeted the older gentleman.  
  
"King Zarkon," he answered. "I bring you gifts."  
  
The Doom guards pushed Anala and Katherine foward, but tugged on the chains that held them which caused them to kneel on the ground.  
  
"I believe you are familiar with Commander Katherine Leonhart," Roaman stated. "This is Queen Anala of Vallis."  
  
"Vallis?" Zarkon asked then turned to Lotor as he and Zeya slowly approached. "Wasn't that the planet with that lunatic named Kelar?"  
  
"A long time ago, it looks it," Lotor stated as he turned to the two women.  
  
"What is this all about, father?" Zeya asked.  
  
"With your permission, my king, we will be using them as bait to lure your enemies to their...demise," Roaman stated.  
  
Lemille looked to him in shock. "Roaman.."  
  
The older man raised his hand to her.  
  
"Yes, yes," Zarkon stated. "It seems that everything is going as planned?"  
  
Anala looked around the throne room as she struggled against the shackles around her wrists. She looked to the one called Lemille seeing that what the other man said did not seem to be what she had expected. She knew that all that was going on did not meet the approval of everyone there. Her gaze then shifted as she noticed Katherine working on her own bonds.  
  
"We will depart tomorrow to Argos," Roaman stated. "All I ask is for a small garrison of your robot soldiers and the presence of your son and daughter."  
  
"Lotor & Zeya."  
  
The two siblings turned to King Zarkon.  
  
"Do you agree to trust Roaman and his plan?"  
  
"If it means the downfall of our enemies, we can only enthusiastically agree, father," Zeya stated.  
  
"Good," the king said. "Escort our guests to a comfortable room."  
  
"Yes, sire."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Doom-----  
  
"Damn my wrists are killing me," Katherine stated as the guards removed their shackles and then closed the door as they left. The audible sound of the door locking shut signaled that they'd be there for a while.  
  
Anala nodded. "I'm sorry, that we were never..."  
  
"Don't worry, your highness," Katherine stated, but she then smiled. "Actually, I should call you cousin."  
  
"Cousin?" Anala asked.  
  
"Your father, and my mother were brother and sister," she said with a smile.   
  
Anala smiled. "Well, it seems that adventure does run in our family, Katherine..."  
  
"Kit," she stated. "Only my friends call me Kit. Now, the only question I have is, what the hell is going on?"  
  
"I don't know," Anala stated. "But whatever was said in that throne room, did catch 2 of our captors by surprise."  
  
"The two younger ones?" Katherine stated. "Yeah, I noticed that too. It seems that this Roaman wasn't at all honest in his plans with them. They may have generally thought that by kidnapping us, they were indeed going to be set to a test."  
  
"And what was that planet they mentioned?"  
  
"Argos," Katherine stated as she walked over to the nearby window and let out a grunt seeing that it was barred up. "Neive was explaining to me that they were reading about a planet named Argos in that old book Keith brought back."  
  
"What?" Anala asked.  
  
"Some planet near Doom," Katherine stated as she wrestled with the bars on the window.   
  
"I was just reading a book that was similar to the one that I gave back to Allura," Anala stated. "What is special about this planet?"  
  
"Don't know," Kahterine stated. "But its gotta be important to set-up a trap for us."  
  
The door to the room then slid open. The two women turned to the door as two guards entered.   
  
"Queen Anala, you presence is requested," one of the guards stated.  
  
"She doesn't go anywhere without me," Katherine said as she stood before Anala.  
  
The second guard then rounded the first and pushed her aside as he took Anala by her arm.  
  
"Anala."  
  
"Kit, it's alright," Anala said as she turned to her. "I'll be fine."  
  
"Anala..."  
  
"It's alright," Anala stated. "I'll return."  
  
Katherine could only watch as the guards escorted Anala out of the room.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Arus-----  
  
"And where is this Argos?"  
  
"These are the only papers I could find that Anala was researching," Xue said as he laid them down on the table before him.  
  
"We were able to determine from some of the cryptic passages in both books to get a general area to look in," Pidge said. "In our book, the author states that while looking at the night sky in the lower horizon, this planet Argos was a span in distance from the planet Aranadine."  
  
"Aranadine is the alternative name to Planet Doom, as that is the only planet that hangs low on Arus' nothern skyline," Teri stated. "A span from where one would sit here, would cover these section of stars."  
  
Teri circled a cluster of faint and bright stars in the vicinity of the area they were focused on. "Since Planets are pretty much stationary items along the night sky, I had the computer calculate these stars to figure out which one didn't move."  
  
"And it brought up these three," Pidge stated as he zoomed in on the star map that displayed on the screen before them. "These two are over 80,000 light years away; there would be no way we could get there in a day's time..This one..."  
  
Teri circled the last planet. "This is Argos."  
  
"I continued to read the book where Anala, left off," Xue stated. "Compared with the book by your author, Allura, this one seems to relate a different tale."  
  
"What does it say?" Allura asked.  
  
"The ramblings documented within this book seemed to be that of someone who escaped Argos, before all life on the planet was destroyed."  
  
"All life?"  
  



	8. Chapter 07

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 7  
----------------  
  
-----Arus-----  
  
"Destroyed?"  
  
Xue nodded as he turned a page in the old book and read from one passage. "Upon my return, the city I once knew of home, laid abandoned, empty. I had found it odd that my eariler hails did not illicit any communications; radar detected nothing in the skies.  
  
"I landed in an open field and trekked my way back; and noticed that not a single bird flew in the sky. Not even an insect chirped in the grass I walked upon.  
  
"The buildings were empty. Streets that were once filled with people were now empty.   
  
"Doors to homes were wide open. In one I found that breakfast still sat on the table, rotting, but it seemed as if whatever had happened hit them in the morning.  
  
"I explored the rest of the planet and found it similar everywhere. No one. Not even animals were left on Argos. My home, my people, gone."  
  
"They just all disappeared?" Lance asked.  
  
"I think something more than that happened," Xue stated. "It goes on to say that he returned to Vallis to relate the rest of his tale, but it ends shortly after that."  
  
Keith stared at the planet highlighted on the screen before him, feeling as if this Argos was somehow, important to him. As if, he had been there before.  
  
"Well, damn..."  
  
Keith looked up as Hunk entered the control room. "I just got some major reports back on this planet," he said. "It seems our Doom friends took some interest back a while ago on this planet, so I was able to find some things on it."  
  
"Like what?" Pidge asked as he went to join his friend.  
  
"The scientists who first explored the planet, were ecstatic to find that the whole damn thing was a ripe source for Lazon."  
  
"Lazon?" Allura asked. "They had Lazon in their backyards and didn't take advantage of it?"  
  
"They also included some other reports as well," Hunk said as he lifted one of the papers he brought in. "Oh my."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Upon further research, after sending three ship full of slaves to explore the abandoned processing plants, after 68 hours of exposure to the planet's atmosphere, the slaves began to become violently ill; symptoms ranging from fevers, shakes, vomiting, sweats, chills, and in several cases, blood poisoning. 72 hours after first exposure, of the 3,487 slaves brought to Argos, 2,987 died.   
  
"It is with great disappointment that we cannot use the resources of this planet to our advantage because of the effects that Lazon, in its purest of forms, will kill anyone who comes in contact with it. Testing conducted on my crew and anyone who came from Planet Doom, seem to be not affected by the ore. It is to our conclusion that if we were to mine Argos for it's Lazon, we would need anyone of Doom or Drule descent; or find the original inhabitants of this desolate planet, of whom, were not affected as well."  
  
"And all they use on Doom are human slaves to work in their Lazon mines there," Teri stated. "But if Doom has Lazon, why aren't the slaves there affected?"  
  
"The scientists said that this was Lazon in its 'purest' form," Hunk stated. "It could be that what they have on Doom is a mixture of other ores but is still considered Lazon," he said. "It would be similar to that of old gasoline and that of rocket fuel. One is considered a diluted version of fuel, the other the purest form of fuel you can have. Both do the same thing."  
  
"72 hours?" Keith asked. "If that is true, then we'll have to be sure that we are out of there before then."  
  
"Not quite," Hunk said as he read over the papers again. "States here that symptoms started to show within 18 hours of exposure; if they got to those slaves and gave them a medicine they developed, they were able to get them out of there and back to Doom. Im assuming that's the 400 plus that they claimed made it. Testing of the medicine after 24 hours of exposure didn't alleviate any of the symptoms."  
  
"So the next 48 hours of their lives were pure torture to those that didn't get the medicine in time?" Lance stated. "Did the scientists mention what the medicine was derived from?"  
  
"No, which will be something we would need," Hunk stated. "If we don't get off of Argos within 24 hours of landing there--"  
  
"Pidge, you work with Teri and Dr. Gorma to see if you can find out what kind of medicine is used against Lazon poisoning," Keith ordered. "Neive, please work with Xue on translating the rest of those books to find out if they reveal any more information about that planet."  
  
"That woman must be working with someone else on this," Lance stated. "Xue, what did the man that took Anala look like?"  
  
"Tan-skinned, unusually tall, grey eyes," Xue stated. "And he spoke with an unusual accent."  
  
"Same with the woman who came here," Keith stated. "Except she knew Arusian, English and some other language."  
  
"That language she was speaking to you in," Lance stated.  
  
"What language?" Xue asked.  
  
"I don't know," Keith stated. "But it sounded like pure English to me."  
  
"English?" Lance asked.  
  
"Do you remember exactly what she said?" Xue asked.  
  
"I do," Shane stated. "One thing I do love the most is figuring out different languages."  
  
"Could you repeat what she said?"  
  
" 'Vi....Vir...Vir'ase, Ylren' was the first thing she said," Shane stated.   
  
"Vir'ase," Xue repeated as he then turned to Keith. "She called you Lord Ylren."  
  
"Lord Ylren?"  
  
"Who is Ylren?" Neive asked. "She said that name at least a couple of times."  
  
"Someone from Vallis," Xue quickly answered. "Keith, is it possible that I speak with you after this?"  
  
Keith nodded and took it as a sign that this meeting was now concluded. He issued his final orders to everyone, and as the room cleared, Xue approached Keith.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"She spoke to you in a language that was only spoken by our elders," Xue stated. "The fact that she knew it, and called you Lord, would suggest that somehow, she knew Ylren personally."  
  
"Personally?" Keith asked. "But that would mean she would be over--"  
  
"2400 years old," Xue stated. "Vir'ase, is more of an affectionate term used among those close to each other."  
  
"Xue, I know that what I went through 3 months ago, is still somewhat a mystery, but through all that has happened, never once anyone told me what happened to Ylren," Keith stated. "If he did become a 'god', where did he go?"  
  
"Didn't Anala say?" Xue asked. "I thought at least Keryn would have told you."  
  
"What?"  
  
"He was killed by an unknown being, upon his return to Vallis..," Xue stated.  
  
"Murdered?"  
  
Xue nodded. "I didn't get much from the elders of anything else of it," he said. "Do you want to know the odd thing?"  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Kelar, was a descendant of Ylren."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Doom-----  
  
Anala followed behind the first guard closely as they headed up three flights of stairs and then down a long hallway. The air was cold, and a little dry, and the lighted torches that illuminated the castle did little to chase away that small eerie feeling that came to her. She already had a feeling of where she was being taken.  
  
The first guard came to stand before a ratherly large set of doors. He lightly knocked on the door.  
  
Anala watched as the doors then opened; a young slave girl bowed as the guards pushed Anala through the open door. She looked back the young girl as she waited by the doors.  
  
"Sire, the Queen Anala of Vallis," the first guard said.   
  
"You are excused."  
  
Anala watched as Lotor appeared from behind a curtained off section of the room, not dressed in his usual garb that she had seen of him. Instead he wore a simple dark tunic shirt, and baggy pants, as he made his way to a small table. His long white hair, tied behind him.  
  
"Yes sire," the guards stated and turned to leave.  
  
"Sire, is there anything else I can prepare for you?" the small girl at the door asked.  
  
"All is fine, Sirra," Lotor stated. "Do see that my sister has gotten things settled for tomorrow's trip."  
  
"I will sire," she stated and then bowed. "I bid you goodnight."  
  
With another bow, the girl then followed the two guards out of the large room, closing the two doors shut behind her.  
  
Anala watched as the doors closed, and then was surprised as a glass of wine was then offered to her. She took a step back as she stared up the Prince, more out of how she didn't know he was there, than out of fear.  
  
"I will not harm you," he stated as he offered the glass to her again.  
  
Anala nodded as she took the glass from him. "There is no reason to fear of harm from you, Lotor," she stated as she took a sip of the wine. "Vallis has no quarrel with Doom."  
  
Lotor looked at her, a little surprised by her remark. "Well, that would be a little false," he said as he walked away from her. "Kelar did give us some trouble from time to time."  
  
"And we returned what he had stolen from you without any prejudice," Anala stated. "Under my leadership, I wanted to keep our relationship with Doom as netural as possible."  
  
"Even though you are apart of the Galaxy Alliance?"  
  
"Our affiliation with the Galaxy Alliance means we only get the needed support from the others in the union," she stated. "It doesn't mean that enemies of the other planets within the union will be our enemies as well."  
  
"And what of your brother's concerns?" he asked. "Does he approve of your neutral stance with Doom?"  
  
"My brother has nothing to do with how I rule Vallis," she said sternly. "He respects my decisions and trusts that for the welfare of my people, we make as few enemies as possible.   
  
"Your fight with Arus, is not our fight," she added. "And if that is all you wanted to discuss, I can no more give you any other insight into what Princess Allura does than what you and I already know."  
  
Lotor then turned to her and let out a hearty laugh. "I did not ask you here to discuss our political dealings with Arus," he stated as he refilled his glass with the dark wine. "I asked you here because I want to know is if there is anything about this strange mission that we are to participate in tomorrow, that I should be concerned about."  
  
"And why ask me?" she asked as he walked over to her and refilled her glass.  
  
"Come now, your highness," he said. "I know of your people. I know what you all can do. A certain 6th sense."  
  
Anala looked at him, meeting his gaze seeing that he somehow knew as well as she did, that something was not right with what was to happen in the coming day or days ahead. She downed her glass of wine and placed it down on a nearby table as she seated herself on a small couch like chair nearby.  
  
"You are not to trust those three strangers," she said, more as a warning than a statement. "At least not that Roaman fellow."  
  
"The one that my father seems to have a personal relation with?"  
  
Anala nodded. "He definitely is planning a trap," she said as he neared her, bringing the flask of wine and again, refilling her glass. "But a trap for whom, I do not know."  
  
"If he is setting a trap, why is he deeming it necessary to include my sister and I?" he asked.  
  
"I dont know," she said as she took the glass of wine and held it in her hands, staring at the reflection of herself in the dark liquid. "The other two, Lemille and Sendrre; it seems that they were as well surprised by what Roaman stated in the throne room. It's safe to say that this Roaman, whomever he is, is planning something that even your father doesn't know about."  
  
"As I suspected," he stated. "I want to be prepared for anything that will happen."  
  
"The only thing that I can definitely say, is that he, for some reason, has certain animosity toward all who is involved," Anala stated as she sipped the wine. "What it is about? I do not know. But, all those who are involved, will be in great danger."  
  
Lotor met her gaze. "Does he mean to have us all killed?"  
  
"That I believe would be his goal," she said. "Even if it means the sacrifice of the two who follow him."  
  
"This does present a problem," he stated as he walked away. "I will have to make sure that my sister and I are ready for anything that will happen."  
  
Anala slowly nodded. "Kidnapping Katherine, would have been all that was needed to lure Princess Allura and the Voltron Force into this fight," she said. "I don't know the motive behind my capture."  
  
"Could it be that there was something to do with Vallis and it's leaders?"  
  
"I've been trying to figure that out," she said. "The book I was reading prior to my capture, chronicled the story of a traveler who came to Vallis, his original mission was to find civilizatins advanced enough to help deliver a message of peace to his people. Upon his return to Argos, however, he found the planet devoid of life, human or animal. Cities that were bustling with life now laid empty and bare. He had no idea what would have caused them to all disappear. When he returned to Vallis, he related the story to one of our elders, and it has been used as the bench for our society since."  
  
"Why would such a fanciful tale be so cherished among your people?"  
  
"His tale was used to stress that his people were so obsessed with power and greed, that warring among their own cities, and countries was finally taking its toll on the people who lived there," she said. "A lesson that we all have been taught since we were children.  
  
"I was barely done with the book when Sendrre came and took me," she said. "And from conversing with Allura, it is pretty much the same tale as told in the book I found that used to belong to Arus."  
  
"Same book?"  
  
"Similar," she stated. "Of a similar visit to Arus, by a traveller who was also from Argos."  
  
"The pieces of this strange puzzle seems to be falling together," Lotor stated. "It seems that anyone who's had any type of affiliation with this planet Argos, have been targeted."  
  
"But what is your affiliation?"  
  
"We once tried to mine the Lazon deposits on the planet nearly a century ago," he stated. "But quickly realized that it would cost us more in slaves than to mine the ore."  
  
"This Roaman seems to have a special tie to that dead planet," Anala said as she finished her wine. She blinked twice as she then felt herself swoon a bit, the wine finally affecting her senses. "What is this?"  
  
Lotor smiled as he grabbed the flask and filled her glass again. "Its a special wine made from the Li'sara berries of Arus," he said. "Takes nearly 30 years just to age."  
  
Anala could only stare at the dark liquid as her mind fought to concentrate. "Is there anything else you needed to know about the mission?" she asked. "I should be getting back to Katherine before she decides to tear a new wall in the room you put her in."  
  
"Actually there is another matter, I wanted to discuss with you," he stated as he settled the flask down on the table near the couch and then seated himself at the opposite end. "There is the matter of a week that I seem to have lost, 9 months ago."  
  
Anala looked at him, remembering that Xue had put a spell on all those who were witness to the liberation of Vallis from Kelar's rule. Since them, Keith saw to it that the spell was lifted from his friends, but it seemed that the spell wasn't lifted from Lotor.  
  
"I know it has to do something with your brother and Kelar," he said. "And I dont like being kept in the dark, or have my own memories erased because of what I was witnessed to."  
  
Anala nodded as she sipped from her glass. "We wanted to protect all those who were involved," she said. "But now that you know part of the truth---" She finished off her glass and placed it down next to the flask as she then turned to him. She held up her arms to him. "You'll have to trust me a bit so I can lift the spell."  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"Will you trust me?"  
  
"Will you hurt me?"  
  
"Have I ever shown malice toward you?"  
  
Lotor then startled her a bit as he pulled out a knife from the inside of the boot he wore and brought it down into one of the cushions of the couch they were on.  
  
"If anything happens, I will not be afraid to use that against you," he said.  
  
"I won't give you a reason to," she stated. She then shook her head a bit, to shake off some of the effects the alcohol was having on her. "If I don't do this now, I won't be able to do it at all. The wine is affecting me."  
  
Lotor breathed in deeply as he leaned forward toward her. Anala breathed in deeply, trying to relax herself, even though her heart, now, started to beat heavily in her chest. It was the same feeling she had felt back on Vallis, all those months ago, when she had helped him after Kelar attacked them.  
  
Excusing the feeling from her mind, she gently placed her hands to the side of his face, and leaned her head against his own. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply as she concentrated on the counter spell.  
  
"Vlia volue, milia milue," she whispered.  
  
Anala let the words echo, the effects of the wine only seemed to augment the spell, and soon, images and memories that were not her own, flooded her mind. She unwittingly had opened a door, to his mind.  
  



	9. Chapter 08

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 8  
----------------  
  
-----Doom-----  
  
Anala was not prepared for the event that had just happened. She found herself witness to several key memories of the prince of Doom, that she had unwittingly unleashed. As she tried to fight the flood of memories, she could only find her own curiosity explore the images before her.  
  
Key moments stuck out prominently; Lotor's training on other planets when he was young; the winning of his first battle, much to the indifference his father showed. His continued drive to please the one man in his life that was barely there to support him. Then other, more recent events; like his return to Doom after being away for so long. The one time his father showed any type of affection for his son. His near infatuation with the meeting with the Princess of Arus, and his growing hatred of the young captain who seemed to be everywhere she was. His failed marriage to his cousin, Queen Merla. And then, the arrival of his half-sister despite his father's displeasure.   
  
Even the smaller moments seem to key on something Anala immediately picked up from all his memories; the longing, the need to be supported, appreciated, for the man he was; not the man he was trying to be. In all of those memories, however, she noticed not one single moment dwelled on who his mother was. And something insided her told her, that this missing detail was somehow at the heart of what was missing from his life.  
  
Anala then breathed in deeply as she felt a sharp cold steel at her neck, which caused her to suddenly gasp for air, and open her eyes as if she finally woke out of a dream. The room she was in began to spin, realizing now that she was on her back as someone pinned her down to the cushions below her.   
  
As she forced to concentrate, she found herself staring up at Lotor, who had straddled her on the couch, pinning her arms down with one hand, and holding the knife to her neck with the other.  
  
"What the hell did you just do?" he asked, anger in his voice.  
  
"I...I don't know," she said as she breathed heavily. Her heart pounded in her chest, echoing in her ears. "It's never done that before."  
  
"Was that some kind of trick, wench?" he asked as he pushed harder on the blade. "To get inside my mind?"  
  
"No," she said as tears came to her eyes. "I've never seen that happen. I've done it to the rest of the Voltron Force without that ever happening. Please, Lotor, I asked that you trust me."  
  
"Then explain to me why I was able to see your memories?" he asked.  
  
"What?" she asked as she stared up at him.  
  
"I saw everything," he said. "Your childhood, your fight against Kelar, helping your brother on Planet Lyssia; even your break-up with that Voltron Force fellow."  
  
"Please, believe me when I say that I don't know what happened," she said. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you."  
  
Lotor met her gaze and slowly pulled the knife from her neck and placed it back into his boot. He then pulled her up from the couch. Anala's mind started to spin, and she suddenly felt exhausted. Whatever had happened, it affected her enough that she did not have the strength to even stand on her own.   
  
He lifted her into his arms and he walked toward the curtained area, parting it slightly. Anala then felt the cool sensation of bedding as she was laid down on some sort of bed on her front. The room was dark, save for the light that filtered in from the room they were in pior. At that moment, she wanted to find the strength to just run, but a hand pinned her arms to the bed below her, as she felt the belt around her waist loosen.  
  
Her mind then flooded with the notion and rumors she had heard about Lotor and how he treated his women prisoners and slaves. She closed her eyes, not wanting to know if those rumors were coming true.  
  
She felt the jumpsuit she wore, be pulled off of her, and the cold air of the room against her bare back. She was expecting the worst, when it caught her by surprise as a blanket came to cover her and her arms were then released.  
  
"Get some rest," she heard his voice finally. "I will have someone bring you up a new set of clothes for tomorrow."  
  
Through her tired gaze she saw his dark silhouette at the part in the curtain. With one last look in her direction, he left, closing the curtain. She then heard the audible sound of his doors opening and then closing.  
  
Anala could only swallow hard, as she closed her eyes. She wondered what had happened in that moment, where they touched minds, and if something she had seen; or something he had seen in her own memories caught the prince off guard. She couldn't dwell on it for much longer as her exhausted mind and body succumbed to the much needed sleep she was waiting for.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Arus-----  
  
Keith looked over the star charts again, making sure that their trip in the morning would be as smooth as it could be allowed, knowing that they were in the dark as to why this was happening.  
  
He spied the book left behind by Neive on page he was left to translate for Pidge and Teri, who themselves were down with Dr. Gorma trying to find the medicine that would prevent them from being affected by the poisons of the Lazon. He picked up the old worn book, and marveled at the handwritten tale that was written in dark ink. The cursive writing, flowed almost in haste, as it seemed the author was trying to keep up with whatever tale had been spun by the visitor who enraptured him to document it.  
  
Some of the words he knew and was familiar with stood out, though his understanding of old Arusian would be that of a little child, somehow, he knew the story, as it were told to him. No...as if he were once there himself.  
  
"Keith?"  
  
He looked up from the book as Coran entered the study room, which Keith would commonly use as his make shift office, when he was presented with so much work to do.  
  
"Coran?"  
  
"Lance said that you would be in here," he stated. "I just received a transmission from Galaxy Garrison on Earth."  
  
"What is it?" Keith asked as he closed the book and slowly stood from where he was sitting.  
  
Coran slowly walked into the room and handed him a small folder. "I made sure that no one else saw this," he stated. "Your request to be released from military service has been granted. You will just need the affirmation from Allura to make it formal."  
  
"Thanks, Coran," he stated as he opened the small folder. He smiled to himself seeing that his records from the Academy on Earth had been included as well.  
  
"When did you want to arrange for Princess Allura to consider it formally?" he asked.  
  
"Soon," Keith stated, "But after we can figure all of this out."  
  
"You do realize the consequence of resigning from the Galaxy Alliance?" Coran asked.  
  
"I've been contemplating it for the last month, Coran," he said. "I know this will be best for me... for all of us."  
  
Coran nodded as he turned away from the young Captain and headed toward the door. "You know, if you still want to..." he paused for a second, for what Keith maybe, for the first time, saw the old man smile.  
  
"Want to what?"  
  
"If it is anyone who deserves to be a leader, for the people of Arus," Coran stated as he met Keith's gaze. He then paused for a moment. "I am growing old, and the care of this planet is wearing me down. The Princess' welfare has always been my top priority; but now with the rarity in attacks by Zarkon and Lotor, I find that my job here is becoming less and less important as it was when I served under King Alfor."  
  
"Coran, if you're thinking that I take..."  
  
"No boy," the old man laughed. "That will be Lance's duty when I decide he is well enough and ready to become Castle Magistrate." Coran seemed to take what he said with a smile. "It would sadden me to see Allura alone, without anyone she can trust...to love." He then met his gaze one last time. "What this old man is saying Keith, that you have always had a home here, and if some fancy prince comes by to play up to Allura's affections, I would immediately turn him away; because the best candidate has been sitting under my nose, all these years."  
  
"Coran...I--"  
  
But Coran was already heading out of the room. Keith could only stare at the door as it closed behind him.   
  
Was Coran giving his blessing?  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Doom-----  
  
Anala woke with a start, lifting herself with her arm. The room she was in was still shrouded in darkness, but her eyes were now accustomed to the darkness. She realized that she was still naked, and grabbed a hold of the blanket that covered her and held it tightly to her.   
  
She placed a hand to her now aching head. She felt slightly sick, but it wasn't enough to make her feel uncomfortable. She swung her legs over the side of the bed she was on, somewhat finding it a little difficult to stand. She pulled the blanket around her as she moved across the room to the opposite side of the room. She brushed her hair back as she grabbed at the curtains that covered the window, only to see that like all of Doom, day or night, it was all the same.  
  
She then heard voices from the next room, and quickly laid herself on the bed, as if she was still sleeping. She listened as someone drew back the curtain and suddenly the bed heaved. A foul smelling odor then was presented over her, she opened her eyes at the smell, then looked up to see Lotor sitting beside her. She held the blanket against her as she propped herself up on her arm.  
  
"It's time," he said as she signaled toward the curtain.   
  
Anala watched as the slave girl she saw from the night before enter, carrying with her some clothes.  
  
"Dress, and I will take you to your friend," he stated.  
  
He stood from the bed and walked passed the young girl, drawing the curtain close behind him. The girl then approached the bed, laying the clothes she brought in at the foot.  
  
"I hope that you will find these comfortable, milady," she stated.  
  
Anala nodded as she looked at the clothes. She got off the bed and unfolded the dark uniform. She slipped on the Doom uniform, the pants were a tight fit, but she did not mind. She then tied her hair back as she zipped up the front of the long sleeved top.  
  
"If you are ready, milady, my master is awaiting for you outside."  
  
The young servant then escorted her to the doors of the room where, two guards and Lotor stood.   
  
"Good, we shall leave then."  
  
The guards opened the door to the room and Anala followed them as they led her back to the room where Katherine was being held. One of the guards that escorted them, then opened the door to the room. Katherine stepped out from the room and met their gazes. She then looked at Anala, a little surprised.   
  
"Both of you move," the guard urged.  
  
Katherine fell into place next to Anala, as they walked down the Corridor. They made a short stop where Zeya joined them, coming to walk beside her brother.  
  
Katherine then turned to Anala as they walked. "What happened to you last night?"   
  
"Ever had Li'sara wine?"   
  
"Yeah," Katherine said. "Strong stuff. Takes about 30 years to age it."  
  
"I had four glasses last night," she said. "I passed out."  
  
Katherine then turned to her "It must have been some party," she said. "Better push up your collar on that suit. If Keith sees that cut on your throat, he'll have kittens."  
  
Anala touched her neck, almost forgetting about the incident last night when Lotor held his knife to her neck. She zipped up the front of her top a little more and brought her hair over her shoulder to hide the cut.   
  
"So you gonna tell me what really happened?" Katherine asked. "Or are we gonna leave it at, you just passed out?"  
  
Anala looked toward the front of their small entourage. "I did something that I shouldn't have done, Kit," she stated. "And what I saw, scared me."  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
"I was able to read his mind."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Not exactly read, but I saw his memories," Anala stated.   
  
Katherine followed her gaze to the front of their group as they entered one of the ship bays of the Castle. King Zarkon and the three strangers they saw last night greeted their group as they spoke with Lotor and Zeya.  
  
"I dont trust them," Katherine stated. "Something is not right with what they are doing."  
  
"The same feelings I have," Anala stated. "I warned him that there could be trouble."  
  
"Warned him?" Katherine asked as she turned to her. She looked toward where Lotor stood and then turned to her. She then turned Anala toward her as she met her gaze. Katherine's own eyes widened by the tell-tale expression worn on her cousin's face. "By the love of God, how could..." She then looked toward where Lotor and Zeya stood, then back to her. "You're in love with him?"  
  



	10. Chapter 09

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 9  
----------------  
  
-----Doom Ship to Argos------  
  
Anala could only find herself staring out of the small window she was seated near as Katherine sat next to her. The trip was mostly made in silence; Anala still bothered by what Katherine had said to her before they boarded the transport ship.  
  
"So you gonna talk to me about what is going on?" Katherine whispered.  
  
Anala turned to her. "Other than, I don't know what else is going on, I don't know what to say," Anala stated. "Lotor and Zeya are also in the dark, and about the only one, I can figure, who knows exactly what is going on, is that Roaman fellow."  
  
"That old guy does seem a little...pushy," Katherine stated.  
  
"I think he has everyone playing into a game he's set-up," Anala stated. "And the bad feeling I have; he wont mind killing us to see that his plan succeeds."  
  
"Then why would Zarkon agree to work with him?" Katherine asked. "That would also mean putting Lotor and Zeya in harm's way."  
  
"Zarkon has been blinded by the constant fights and battles he's had with Arus over the years," Anala stated. "He'll do everything he can to see any plan, as dubious as it could be, through. At this point, he probably could care less of what happens to Lotor, and I don't think he particularly cares what happens to Zeya."  
  
"What a loving father," Katherine muttered. Katherine's gaze then shifted to the small cut on Anala's neck then turned her head away to look up toward the front of the transport ship.  
  
"So what kind of memories did you get outta him?"  
  
Anala turned to her, but let out a sigh. "Nothing much," Anala stated. "Seems that he's had a hard life; under the constant pressure from Zarkon to be the best. There was definitely no real love in that family."  
  
"Well, whatever you saw, somehow got to you," Katherine stated. "So, what affected you so much?"  
  
Anala swallowed hard, suddenly finding that her throat was dry. "I saw nothing from his memories concerning his mother."  
  
"Mother?" Katherine asked. "Come to think of it, we never found anything about Zarkon's wives. He's had about 5 of them."  
  
"Well, whoever she was, it seems Lotor was too young to remember her," Anala stated. "What happened to Zarkon's other wives?"  
  
"Don't know," Katherine stated. "Save for the last one."  
  
"What happened to her?"  
  
"About 10 years ago, he had her thrown into the Pit of Skulls," Katherine stated. "They said that she was never found."  
  
"Damn," Anala stated. "If she was killed, we can assume that the others were...."  
  
"Killed as well," Katherine stated. "For the reasons? I do not know."  
  
"With Zarkon, do you ever need a reason?" Anala asked.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Argos-----  
  
Anala shielded her eyes as she stepped off the transport. The sun shown down brightly overhead as Katherine came to stand next to her. Anala breathed in deeply, noticing the slight, spice filled odor that permeated the air. She immediate recognized the smell.  
  
"There's a strange odor," Katherine stated.  
  
"It's Lazon," Anala stated. "If its blanketing the air like this, that means this planet is just covered with Lazon."  
  
"Lazon?" Katherine asked.  
  
"The very stuff that Zarkon and Haggar uses in their weapons, ships and robeasts," Anala stated.  
  
A sudden noise from the back of the transport caught both their attentions as 12 Doom soldiers struggled with a rather large robeast. It was a cat-like creature with large talons on each of its hands. It stood nearly 18 feet. It was slightly hunched foward, as it was lead out of the hold of the ship. Once free into the sunlight, it let out a deafening roar, stretching its arms out, the talons coming dangerously close to the guards, as they jumped out of the way.  
  
Zeya was there to immediately calm the creature down, and as if the monster was just a kitten, let her touch it's paw, and responded to her commands obediently. She spoke with the guards before joining her brother.  
  
"Great, just what we need," Katherine stated as she looked around. "Looks like they were planning ahead on this one."  
  
"I'm just hoping that whatever is planned, that thing won't be used against us."  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Arus------  
  
Dawn couldn't have come any faster, as the Beta Team and the original Team readied for their departure. Keith consulted one last time with Xue and Coran before issuing his final instructions to both teams. Without their leader, the Beta Team was delegated to follow any instructions issued by Lance and then from Neive when they were to reach Argos. The trip itself would be a long one since Argos was just outside of Doom's territory. A three-hour flight, of not knowing what would happen when they reach the dead planet.  
  
Their departure was without fanfare, considering that they were now leaving Arus undefended, save for whatever Castle defenses they had. But with Lotor and his forces already involved in this strange kidnapping of both Anala and Katherine, Keith knew that he had not much to worry about the safety of Arus.  
  
Much of the trip was made in silence save for the reports that he asked both teams to give every 20 minutes, keeping an eye out for any possible Doom ships they may encounter. Even if whom they are dealing with maybe in league with King Zarkon, Keith wasn't taking any chances that Zarkon's forces were still ready to attack.  
  
"All's clear," Lance reported. "It should be smooth sailing from here."  
  
"Just keep your eyes peeled," Keith stated.   
  
"When we get there, what are we looking for?" Lance asked.  
  
"Someplace big enough, yet probably enclosed to set up a trap," Keith stated. "If Katherine was smart enough, she should have activated her tracking device already. We'll search the planet until we pick up her signal. Once we've pinpointed it, Beta Team will land 3 clicks from that position; meet up with you guys to take the Lion ships."  
  
"Tracking device?" Lance asked. "When did..."  
  
Keith smiled to himself. "Long story, Lance," he said. "You guys will land 2 clicks from the point and I will land as close as possible. Once we free Katherine, I'll send her to take Black Lion."  
  
"Question remaining is what will happen to us?" Hunk came over the com. "Seems like someone is going through an awful lot of trouble to get us to show up on this planet. Bring us out into Creepsville on a ghost planet, for what?"  
  
"Well, we're just gonna havta find out," Lance said. "And maybe kick some doom hiney's in the process."  
  
"Just remember, if they hurt one hair on poor Kit's head, they are just gonna havta deal with me," Hunk stated.   
  
"We'll be sure to save some of the action for ya, pal," Lance added.  
  
Keith took their banter to heart, but he could not shake the feeling that there was more to this than he could see. Somehow, he knew that all of this centered on him; for what reason he did not know. The strange woman however, who kidnapped Katherine, somehow in someway seemed familiar. And if going to Argos to find out why was the only way he could, then he was determined to fight this through to the end; whatever it may be.   
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
-----Argos-----  
  
Anala watched as Katherine paced the room they were in. Their captors had long since locked them in the tiny room, with a small pitcher of water should they get thirsty. She smiled to herself as the young girl finally sat down against the wall with a huff.  
  
"How long have we been down here?"  
  
"Nearly 8 hours," Anala stated. "It only became morning on Arus not more than 3 hours ago."  
  
"What the heck are they doing?"  
  
"Probably setting up some sort of trap," Anala stated. "They surely won't let the Voltron Force go so easily."  
  
"This whole thing stinks," Katherine stated. "I hate being in the dark."  
  
"It seems that we are only here to serve as bait," Anala stated. "Their concern over us is to make sure we live long enough for that purpose."  
  
"So, they're just going to off us when this whole thing is done?"  
  
"I don't think so," Anala said. "Otherwise, they would have already killed us. Just the notion that we were still alive to rescue would have been enough to lure our friends here."  
  
The door to the room they were staying in opened and the strange woman they had come to know entered, carrying a small tray with her. She met Anala's gaze before walking into the room. Katherine was quick to stand as she approached them.  
  
"I'm sure the both of you are hungry," she stated. "I've brought you both some food an water."  
  
She then handed Katherine the tray and once again met Anala's gaze.   
  
"Your name is Lemille, right?" Anala finally asked.   
  
"Yes, that is my given name," she stated.  
  
"What are you?" Katherine blurted.  
  
The woman met the young girl's gaze and then smiled to herself. "I'm Argosian," she said. "And so is Sendrre and Roaman; this is - was our home planet a very long time ago."  
  
"If you're...from..."  
  
"That makes me older than you both by at least 2370 years," she stated.  
  
"But neither of you are full Argosian," Anala stated as she got to her feet. "In fact, you are Vallusian as well."  
  
The woman turned to her. "Yes," she said. "But unlike a true Vallusian, I do not posses your unique abilities. How did you know?"  
  
"Lemille," Anala stated. "Its a name originated in our myths and legends. Very uncommon."  
  
"But how -- how can you have lived this long?" Katherine asked.  
  
"Actually, there is someone you can ask about that," she said as she turned to Anala one last time. "He should have told you about us a long time ago, but being the arrogant ass that he is, he probably left you all in the dark."  
  
"Who?" Katherine asked.  
  
"Ylren."  
  
Anala's eyes widened at the mention of the name.  
  
"Your friends should be arriving within the hour," Lemille stated. "Finish eating and I will come for you when they have arrived."  
  
"Now wait..."  
  
"Kit, it's alright," Anala stated. "We will wait for your return."  
  
Lemille slowly nodded before turning to leave the room. The door closing and then locking behind her.  
  
"Who the heck is Ylren?" Katherine asked.  
  
"This situation is getting beyond uncomfortable," Anala stated. "And I'm beginning to think this is more of a revenge plot."  
  
"WHO is Ylren?" Katherine asked again. "Anala, what the heck is going on?"  
  
Anala met her gaze. "Ylren is ...was our god," she stated simply. "A very long time ago, a Vallusian was granted with the powers to help our people, but because he was not ready for such greatness, he did what he could for us, and left our planet. He traveled elsewhere, only to return a decade later, with a daughter at his side. He stayed on Vallis for a short while before leaving once again. The young girl who claimed to be his daughter stayed behind growing up here in our ways and customs, then one day she too left; never to return."  
  
"So what happened to Ylren?"  
  
"Shortly after his last return, he was killed, by someone unknown...."  
  
"Murdered?"  
  
Anala nodded. "We never saw either of them again, so we had to assume that they were true. And as time passed, our myths; stories; even the legends encompassed this to the one day that he should return; or grant his sole powers to one Vallusian who will be as great as he."  
  
Katherine could then only stare at her. "You mean Keith, don't you?" she asked. "That's why he stayed on Vallis all that time. Why do they think that he is the one they want?"  
  
"Because, Kit, somehow...in someway, Ylren was able to come back," she said. "Through him."  
  
"And they want Ylren," Katherine said. "All of this because they want Ylren for some stupid reason?"  
  
"I'm not sure what is behind their motives, but I do believe they think that Ylren has returned, and they are trying to lure him to this planet."  
  
"So, the only thing we can do is hopefully find out what it is they want with Keith, get off this planet before we are affected by the Lazon, and do all of this without getting killed."  
  
"And find out what really happened to this planet...."  
  



	11. Chapter 10

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 10  
----------------  
  
----- Argos------  
  
"Approaching Argos," Pidge announced over the com links to each of the Lion Ships. "I've detected the homing beacon Katherine is carrying. Definitely in the Northern hemisphere...We can break up to scour the area faster."  
  
"Agreed," Keith announced. "I'll take the northeast quadrant; Lance you and the Beta-Team search near the equator. Allura, take Pidge and search the northwest areas. Hunk, you think you can cover the rest?"  
  
"Sure can, Cap!" Hunk announced.   
  
"Look for anything out of the ordinary," Keith stated. "Remember, this planet is supposed to be lifeless."  
  
"Understood!"  
  
He breathed in deeply as he punched in his coordinates.   
  
The descent to the planet's surface was quick, but Keith took his time as he flew over the land below him. He then noticed areas where once towns; cities once stood, now the forest reclaiming what land that was taken from it. In each one as he flew over, however, he noticed several large buildings that towered into the sky, hundreds of feet. This he assumed were the processing plants, used to mine the very ore that would be poisonous to those who were not of this world.  
  
He knew that their time on this strange planet was limited to whatever the antidote that Dr. Gorma fashioned for them. His worries, were however, for Kat and Anala, since they have now been on Argos for a lot longer than they have.  
  
Soon he flew over one of the largest cities he had so far encountered. The signal on his console beeped louder; signaling that Kat's beacon would be close. He flew over the area and noticed three large processing plants; however nowhere to land his lion close by.   
  
He then found what looked to be a city square. With some ease, he was able to land his lion, and jumped to the ground.  
  
Empty buildings towered over him. The wind was blowing lightly, and the distinct smell of Lazon permeated the air. His gaze soon came to fix on the remnants of an old fountain; it was rather large, so he assumed that this must have been some type of market area, or at least some part of the city that would be frequented by its residents.  
  
He walked up to the aged fountain and rested his foot on what used to be its ledge. It crumbled under his weight.  
  
"What could have happened here?"  
  
A sudden laugh echoed in the air.  
  
He quickly turned around, drawing his laser pistol, but found only the wind blowing through the empty buildings around him.  
  
The laugh came again.  
  
It was all around him; laughing, people talking....  
  
He turned toward the fountain again, then gasped as it was no longer a crumbling ruin, but returned to its once splendor form.  
  
He stepped back wondering what was going on.  
  
Soon, people faded into the scene before him; vehicles lined the once empty streets, children were running and women speaking in a foreign tongue. He turned around, to see the buildings that were once destroyed, were now pristine and in good repair.  
  
"Lemille!"  
  
He quickly turned around to see a young girl running toward him with a young man following close behind here.  
  
She stopped just before where Keith stood, and stared up at him with the same grey eyes of the woman who took Katherine.  
  
The young man who was chasing her caught up to her, and bent down to kneel to her level.  
  
" 'Your father will have my hide if he saw you run off like that,' " the man stated. " 'Why did you run?' "  
  
" 'He's here, Uncle.' "  
  
She then pointed to where Keith was standing, and the young man looked toward him. Keith eye's then widened as the young man stood, taking the young girl into his arms.  
  
" ' So he is,' " he stated.  
  
Keith looked behind him to see if they were looking at someone else, but found no one there.  
  
" ' We mean you, Captain Hayashi, ' " The young man stated. He then smiled. " 'We finally meet.' "  
  
"Who---who are you?" Keith asked.  
  
The man smiled. " ' You know who I am, ' " he stated. " 'I can't explain, yet, but know that you are going up against a man whom I had fought once, long ago. He is very dangerous; do not fall for his tricks. '"  
  
"Why----?"  
  
" ' All will be revealed, in due time' " he stated. " ' I must go. '"  
  
"Wait!"  
  
" ' We will meet soon again, Captain,' " he said.  
  
"Captain?"  
  
Keith watched as the scene before him fade, and the city returned to its desolate nature.  
  
"Captain?"  
  
He quickly turned around to see Neive standing nearby.  
  
"Neive?"  
  
"We followed your signal, and saw that you landed here," he stated. "Who were you talking to?"  
  
"What?" Keith asked.  
  
"Just now?" he asked. "You were speaking to someone?"  
  
Keith looked around. "No one," he stated. "Where are the others?"  
  
"They are landing as we speak," Neive stated.  
  
"Once they land, we will meet to go over last minute instructions," Keith stated.  
  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
Anala breathed in deeply as the doom robot guards escorted her and Katherine to the main area of the large building they were in. The building towered above them, with level upon levels of floors, each having its own purpose for whatever this building was used for.  
  
"Be careful, your highness, it is a rather long fall, there,"  
  
Anala looked down and immediately moved away from the large hole that was in the ground. She looked toward Zeya, who stood near her.  
  
"The building extends another 40 stories below ground," she stated. "Where the Lazon was actually mined."  
  
"Is this--- was this a processing plant of some sort?"  
  
"This planet is littered with these plants all over," she stated.  
  
"The Lazon was mined below then brought up here to be processed,"  
  
The two women looked to the woman who was escorting them. Lemille.  
  
"What happened to this planet?" Zeya asked.  
  
The woman looked to her. "I do not know," she stated. "Roaman was the only one of the three of us to know."  
  
"And he hasn't told you?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, he's told us who was responsible." Lemille stated. "Which is why you are all here."  
  
Anala then watched as she walked faster to walk with the young man, Sendrre.   
  
"Who?" Zeya asked. "You mean one person is responsible for what happened?"  
  
Anala bit her lip wondering if she spoke the truth. That all of this was to take revenge on Ylren. Was he actually responsible for the destruction of the life on this planet?  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
The Voltron Force slowly entered the largest building in the city they landed in. The main processing plant it would seem.  
  
"The signal is close," Pidge whispered.   
  
Keith nodded as he placed his hand on his holster, to be ready to draw his weapon if he needed to.  
  
Soon, the corridor they walked down opened up to a large foyer, the heart of the building they were now in.  
  
"Stop right there,"  
  
Keith quickly drew his pistol as he aimed it in the direction of the voice. He relaxed a little when he saw that four doom robot soldiers were holding Anala and Katherine to one side, as Lotor and Zeya stood the left of the three strangers; the woman who took Katherine stood to the right of an older looking man.  
  
The older man smiled as he stepped forward. "Your weapons will not work here, Captain," he stated. "The Lazon in this building has leeched your power supplies for your pistols."  
  
"Well, then you wont mind if I keep it aimed at you, for now," Keith stated. "Now, would you mind telling us exactly who you are, why you've kidnapped Katherine and Anala, just to get us here?"  
  
"These two?" Roaman asked as he looked toward to the two women. "They've served their purpose."  
  
Roaman waved his hand and the guard holding the girls released them. Anala looked to Katherine and they both walked from where they were standing to join the Voltron Force.  
  
"Kit,"  
  
Katherine walked up to Keith as he kept his pistol aimed at the older man. "Take this, and take Anala back with you to Black Lion. The others are waiting for you."  
  
Katherine nodded as she turned to Anala, "Let's go before they change their minds."  
  
"No, Kit, you go," Anala stated. "I will stay here."  
  
"Anala, go with Kit," Keith stated.  
  
Anala shook here head, and without argument, Kit ran the way they had entered. Keith returned his attention to the older man.  
  
"So, we are here, what do you want?"  
  
"Actually, I could care less about your friends, Captain, its you who I want."  
  
"Why me?" Keith asked as he raised his aim, following Roaman's every move.  
  
"Your little stint on Alysia drew me out to find you," he stated. "To bring you back to where all of this started."  
  
"How do you know what happened on Alysia?" he asked.  
  
"You still do not realize what you are, do you Captain?" Roaman asked. "That you are unlike your mortal friends here. That you hold a power that mere mortals wish they could have?"  
  
"Sorry, but you got the wrong man," he stated. "The only thing I am is getting even more unnerved by what you are doing. If you don't tell us why you have brought us here, we are taking leave of this planet."  
  
Roaman held his hand up as the levels above them then filled with hundreds of Doom soldiers, aiming their own laser weapons at them. Hunk and Lance were quick to draw their own weapons.  
  
"Don't think you will leave here alive if you do," he stated. "This building is completely under my control."  
  
"Get on with it, old man," Lotor stated. "Toying with them will prove your own undoing."  
  
The old man turned toward the Doom Prince and with a small smile and a slight wave of his hand, a sudden force threw Lotor off his feet, and flying through the air.  
  
"Lotor!" Zeya yelled.  
  
The prince hit the wall of the building quite hard, as he slumped the ground.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!" Zeya shouted.  
  
Another wave of the man's hand sent her flying as well, but this time, she was sent toward the Voltron Force. Hunk was quick to react as he caught her before she hit the ground.  
  
"You all have a reason to be here," Roaman stated. "Anala, Queen of Vallis and Keith Hayashi, descendants of Yrlen..."  
  
"Descendants?"  
  
"Prince Lotor and Princess Zeya of Doom," Roaman continued. "Your great, great, grandfather was responsible for the stealing of Argos' resources..."  
  
Zeya could only stare at the old man, eyeing his movement.  
  
"Why are you holding us responsible for what our ancestor did?" Zeya asked.  
  
"Your kingdom survived because of what your ancestor did," Roaman stated. "Your father was a fool, and has always been a fool. To get on his good graces all these years, so that I may find the perfect time to take my revenge."  
  
"Roaman!" Lemille nearly yelled. "You promised---"  
  
The old man turned to her. "Do not forget your place, Lemille," he stated. "It was I who saved you from the influences of these people."  
  
"Lemille?"  
  
Roaman turned toward the young captain as he slowly lowered his pistol.  
  
"You...you're Ylren's niece..."  
  
Before Lemille could answer, Roaman stepped forward.  
  
"Enough of this," Roaman stated. He then held his hand up, steady before him.  
  
Keith suddenly felt himself being lifted from the ground, and was brought to stand before Roaman. The old man then smiled as he wrapped his hand around his neck and squeezed.  
  
"Listen to me very carefully, Captain, as the very lives of your close friends reside on whether or not you cooperate," Roaman stated as he squeezed even more. "I can easily take your life, but I know that Ylren will not allow me to do that."  
  
"What makes you think that Ylren has anything to do with me?" Keith asked as he grabbed onto the old man's arm. "He's brought nothing but grief to my life."  
  
Roaman smiled. "As he has for everyone he's ever met. Now, its time to bring him out of hiding."  
  
Roaman squeezed his hand tighter around Keith's neck, causing the Captain to kneel before him. He then started to chant something in a strange language, but it was having its desired effect on Keith.  
  
Allura gasped as whatever spell the old man was chanting caused Keith to involuntarily form his own wings to appear. The Voltron Force could only watch as the guards moved in closer to them, to keep them at bay.  
  
And as with what happened on Alysia, a second set of wings started to appear, but very slowly on Keith's back.   
  
"Yes, that's it Captain, do let Ylren finally show himself to us," Roaman stated.  
  
Zeya breathed in deeply, but then realized that she was still wearing the armlet that was given to her by Hagar, to control the robeast. She slowly stepped up to where Lance was standing, as they watched the spectacle before them.  
  
"When I give the signal, have your friends find some cover," she whispered to him.  
  
Lance turned to her. "What do you mean?"  
  
"All hell is about to break loose."  
  
Without a second thought, Zeya gave her signal, and as she dove to an area that was covered with rubble, she pressed a button on her armlet.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
Katherine let out a scream as she lost her footing as the ground below her shook. The Beta Team turned toward the Processing plant as the shake was then followed by a loud explosion.  
  
"What the??"  
  
"Oh no," Katherine uttered. "To the Lions! Now!"  
  
The five members quickly climbed into their respective lion ships and took to the air.   
  
"What the hell was that?" Neive asked over the comlink.  
  
"I don't know, but it smells like something really bad has happened." Katherine stated. "For all our sakes, I hope this doesn't mean we've been promoted to Alpha-team."  
  



	12. Chapter 11

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 11  
----------------  
  
----- Argos------  
  
Zeya shook her head as she slowly got to her feet. She then jumped out of the way as the robeast charged toward her, to take out the ten robot guards that were once guarding them. She avoided it again as she rolled out of the way, this time getting a better sense of the situation.   
  
She hadn't realized how strong the bombs were, that blew through the base of the processing plant. The robeast attacked anything that moved, and she could see that the Voltron Force were avoiding it as much as possible as well as defending themselves against the Doom Guards, who were under Roaman's control  
  
Roaman. She looked around the foyer to find that the old man was nowhere to be found.  
  
  
Zeya looked down at her arm and saw that the control armlet had been damaged. That would mean her control over the now rampaging monster was lost.  
  
She then noticed that her brother Lotor, was slowly getting to his feet, unaware of the chaos around him. Dazed, still from Roaman's silent attack on him.  
  
"Lotor!" she yelled.  
  
Before she could make her way toward her brother, the robeast started on an attack toward her, to take out the several Doom guards around her. Before she could react, the robeast swung its large taloned claw and swiped the guards and her to the side as if they were merely toys. Zeya let out a gasp as she hit the far wall, knocking the wind out of her. She fell to her knees in pain as she tried to regain her balance.  
  
Anala watched as the Robeast attacked the guards and Zeya where they stood. She nearly screamed when she saw Zeya being flung like a rag doll across the room. As the robeast continued to take out the remaining Doom guards, the Voltron Force were firing upon the robeast, though their laser fire had hardly any effect on the monster's tough armored skin.  
  
She then saw that Keith was lying unconscious, dangerously close to the huge hole in the ground, that was created by the Robeast as it came up through the base of the processing plant, as underground bombs exploded around them. Definitely a well designed trap, if that old man, Roaman, hadn't gone against those he was cooperating with.  
  
She watched as the robeast crossed the foyer to take out another set of guards. She saw this as her chance to try and get her brother away from the gaping hold in the ground. She dodged the flying robot guards as they were thrown in the wake of the monster's attack, and saw that Keith was slowly regaining his consciousness. Though, not enough to move on his own.  
  
She knelt down beside him, to see the slight red marks forming around his neck, from where Roaman was slowly choking the life out of him. Still everything was a mystery concerning what he wanted, but she knew that this was not the time or place to figure it out. She needed to get Keith out of the way.  
  
"Look out!"  
  
Anala quickly turned to see that the robeast was heading her way. She couldn't move fast enough as the monster reared back its right clawed hand, as she got to her feet.  
  
Lance turned when he heard the scream.  
  
"ANALA!"   
  
Anala was on her knees as she grabbed onto the talon that was pierced through her left shoulder. Tears flooded her eyes as the robeast stood there, almost as if it was savoring the moment, of finally tearing through human flesh. She then let out an audible groan, as the robeast lifted his claw, as she dangled from the sharp talon, almost toying with her.  
  
She stared up at the robeast as it looked at her. She held her pain in check, as each movement the monster made, the farther the talon was sent into her shoulder. It had already pierced through her back, going straight through her should blade; meaning now, if for any means of escape, she was now without, her left wing.  
  
Just as the robeast was bringing up its other hand, Anala watched as something flew through the air and pierced the armored skin of the robeast its its upper arm. The robeast reacted violently, causing it to shake her loose of its taloned claw, as she dropped to the ground before it. Anala let out a scream as she landed, finding it hard to get her strength to stand. The pain in her left shoulder was becoming unbearable, and soon, she could see that she was bleeding heavily. She then looked up and saw that a blue laser sword was what caused the robeast to react so violently. She then looked around and saw that Lotor was standing a few yards away and the robeast was now on its way to attack him.  
  
Anala struggled to get to her feet, the pain was nearing her own threshold, but she knew if she didn't get out of the way soon, she would be herself in danger of falling into the deep hole that she was near.  
  
As soon as she got to her feet, someone came up from behind her to help her be steady. She smiled weakly seeing that it was Keith as he tore a part of his sleeve from his uniform to press against the wound in her shoulder.  
  
"We have to get you out of here," he stated.  
  
She nodded in agreement, but soon found the strength leaving her. Her legs buckled under her, and she had to lean against him for support.  
  
"Keith! Look out!"  
  
The two of them looked up and Anala gasped seeing that the robeast had several guards in its hand, and..  
  
"Lotor," Anala mumbled.  
  
The robeast then drew back its arm and the guards along with Lotor went flying.  
  
Another explosion rocked through the entire building, the ground began to shake violently, and soon the entire building started to cave in.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
"Kit, look!"  
  
Katherine looked at the site before her as the large building started to fall apart.   
  
"Come on guys, we have to get there now!"  
  
Katherine pushed the Black Lion as hard as she could, hoping that they would be able to get to the processing plant before it completely fell apart; but to their dismay, out of the crumbling rubble, their horrors were only magnified as a giant robeast grew out of the remnants of the now destroyed building.   
  
"Kit, what are we gonna do?" Teri's voice echoed over the comlink.  
  
Katherine gritted her teeth as she tried to contemplate what to do next. She had to trust her instincts and hope that the Voltron Force were still alive in the rubble, but she knew they would have to take out that robeast in order to get to the building. Her choices were now painfully clear.  
  
"Ready to form Voltron!"  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
" ' No, Roaman, I will not let you do this, ' "  
  
The old man stared at him, defiantly.  
  
" ' And who are you to dicate what I can or cannot do? ' "  
  
" ' Lemille and Sendrre are still young, they do not understand what they are capable of; you of all people should know that we were given a gift, and it shouldn't be taken lightly, '"  
  
The old man only sneered. " ' Ylren, you and your friend were guests to Argos; I think its time that you and he leave. '"  
  
" ' We will not leave without Lemille or Sendrre, '"  
  
" ' They are mine to do with as I please, '"  
  
" ' You mean you want them as your slaves, ' "  
  
The old man only smiled as he waved his hand. Three guards from outside the room they were, soon entered, surrounding Ylren.  
  
" ' You sought us out because we are all the same, Ylren, and I've come to realize that you have opened doors for us that were once closed, '" Roaman then signaled to bring in the young man, who had come to Argos with Ylren.   
  
Ylren gasped seeing that he was bound and gagged by the guards.  
  
" ' You traitorous bastard, '" Ylren seethed. " ' What do you think you are doing? '"  
  
Roaman then turned to the guard standing on his left. " ' Make it known that the traveler called Eirik, was caught after committing the most heinous of crimes on Argos, '"  
  
" ' Sir? '" the guard then asked.  
  
" ' The murder of the High Chancellor, Arman Tamrsson, '"  
  
" ' Murder, my lord? '" The guard asked.  
  
Roaman only nodded as he pulled out his laser pistol.  
  
" ' and by decree of the highest of our courts, he is to be punished by death ' ".  
  
" ' Roaman, no!" Ylren yelled, but three guards then held him back. Ylren met Eirik's eyes, as tears welled up.   
  
" ' Any last words for your brother, Ylren? '"  
  
" ' Don't do this, Roaman! ' "  
  
Ylren let out a scream as Roaman fired his pistol. Just as the shot run out, the door to the small room they were in opened, and there stood in the doorway, were the two young children, Lemille and Sendrre. The young girl could only stare at the older man, and her uncle, then her tiny gaze came upon the lifeless body of her father.   
  
Ylren could only stare at her as the young girl trembled.  
  
" ' Papa? '" she managed to say.  
  
Roaman was quick to make his way to her, kneeling before her.  
  
" ' oh honey, I didn't want you to see this , ' " he stated. " ' Your papa....' "  
  
Tears welled up in the young girl's eyes as she looked at him.   
  
" ' Your Uncle, he was jealous....' " Roaman carefully stated. " ' He wanted what your father had; a family, and in a fit of rage, he killed him. ' "  
  
" ' Roaman! ' " Ylren yelled.   
  
The guards that held him then hit him across the side of his head, causing him to slump to the ground.  
  
" ' See, he's not even sorry for what he did, ' "Roaman stated. " ' I wish we could have been here sooner. ' "  
  
The girl could only fight back her tears as her gaze could only hold on where her father laid. She held onto Sendrre tightly as she continued to stare.  
  
" ' Lemille, do you understand ? ' " Roaman asked.  
  
Roaman then turned when he heard one of his guards, scream out.   
  
" ' My lord! ' "  
  
Soon, every single guard in that room started to scream, as if in pain. Roaman could only stand and watch in horror as three of them burst into flame before him, slumping to the ground, then turned to ash.  
  
He quickly turned to where Lemille was standing with Sendrre, holding the boy in her arms as a white glow surrounded the both of them, and Lemille's eyes, glossed over.  
  
" ' Lemille, no...stop! ' "  
  
The little girl then let out a piercing scream as the glow around her suddenly expanded....followed by a loud explosion  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
Keith woke with a start, breathing in deeply, recovering from the strange dream. He then realized that he was someplace shrouded in complete darkness, but soon as his sight adjusted, he could make out the area he was in.  
  
As reality finally settled in, he realized the sharp pain he felt from his back. With a groan he slowly sat up, then moved to get onto his knees, to find the strength to stand up.  
  
"No, don't."  
  
A small light was then turned on, and he looked up. A familiar face then appeared before him and he almost let out a sigh of relief, but the pain in his back became unbearable.  
  
"What happened?" he asked.  
  
"The robeast attacked you once you saw Lotor and Anala go over the edge," Allura stated as she kneeled beside him. "You were ready to fly down to catch them, but the monster caught you by your own wings. He flung you around like a dead bird, and when you tried to move again....well...basically, he broke your wings...."  
  
"No wonder my back feels like hell," he stated. "Where in hell are we?"  
  
"Don't know, but I know we all fell through the hole after the explosion made it bigger," she stated. "I know we fell for a bit...maybe ten stories."  
  
"How'd we land safely?"  
  
"You did what you could," she said. "I don't know what happened to the others."  
  
"Anala and Lotor?" he asked. "Where are they?"  
  
"I don't know," she said. "They were the first to fall...."  
  
"Help me up."  
  
"No, you don't have the strength..."  
  
"It doesn't matter," he said as he tried to get to his feet. "Unless we are all out of here in the next 16 hours, there will be no sense to leave this planet."  
  
"Why?" she asked.  
  
"The Lazon will have taken its effect on us, and even the antidote we took wont help us after 36 hours of being here," he stated. "Anala hasn't taken her antidote, yet."  
  
"So her time is less?" Allura asked.  
  
With much effort, Allura helped him to his feet and she walked with him to the point where they landed. Keith looked up to see the gaping hole above.  
  
"No, we are about 14 stories down," he stated. "We'll have to find a way out. Without my wings, I wont be able to fly us out of here."  
  
"What about the Beta-Team?" Allura asked.  
  
"If I saw what the robeast did, they currently have their hands filled." He said. "Come on, we should make every effort in finding a way out of here."  
  
Allura nodded as she helped him turn around. She then looked up toward the hole above, seeing that it was now covered in debris. She then looked over the edge of the level they were on, wondering where in the maze of levels and floors, where the others might be....  
  



	13. Chapter 12

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 12  
----------------  
  
----- Argos------  
  
Kit yelled as the robeast ran full force into them, knocking Voltron off balance, and stumbling into the nearby buildings.   
  
"Damn this thing!" she yelled through the comlink. "Shane, what have you got on this thing?"  
  
"Armor is made from a combination of Lazon and Baryon," Shane stated. "Baryon is closest to diamond quality, since its basically crystal."  
  
"No wonder none of our weapons are making it through," Kit stated. She pulled on the controls to get Voltron back on his feet and ready for the next attack. "Any suggestions?"  
  
"Well, if we can figure out a way through that armor, we can probably take it out easily after that," Lynne stated. "But, what can penetrate Lazon?"  
  
Kit could only stare at the view screen before her. "What can?"  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
Anala breathed in deeply as she slowly opened her eyes. She then let out a cough, which caused her to wince, as a sudden sharp pain shot through the left side of her body. Her eyes teared as the she rolled onto her side, to breathe in deeper, waiting for the pain to subside.  
  
Her senses were alive, her head ached. She was aware of everything around her, the smallest sound echoed in her mind. And now, with the added pain, she could not focus herself on what was around her.  
  
The quite fall of footsteps caused her to gasp and quickly sit-up. The action, only caused to augment the pain she felt in her left shoulder, but fear began to play at her being. Where was she? How did she get there? She didn't know, but whoever was approaching her, she did not care to find out.  
  
As the footsteps neared, she scrambled to try and crawl away as fast as she could. Her head continued to ache, and she became aware that she was feeling awfully hot; but all she knew was that she needed to get away, as fast as she could.  
  
"Anala..."  
  
How did that voice know her name? No, she wasn't going to let it get her.  
  
"Anala!"  
  
Must move faster.   
  
She then felt something grab her by her right ankle, and pull on her. The grip was tight, like a vice and she let out a scream as she tried to kick whomever with her free leg. But soon, that too was caught in a vice like grip.  
  
"Let go of me!" she yelled.   
  
She felt herself being pulled and suddenly she was being held in a set of strong arms. Roughly, whoever it was, pinned her legs down, with its own and a gloved hand came to hold her own hands together. She then felt a strange warm hand come to her forehead, brushing away her sweat-soaked bangs.  
  
"Damn, you're burning up."  
  
As soon as the pressure on her legs lessened, with whatever strength she had, she pushed whoever held her away, and tried to crawl away again. She nearly cried as the pain shot through her arm again, which cause her get away to become hindered.  
  
"Damn it wench, stop moving!"  
  
She felt the tight grip on her ankle again and she was roughly pulled along the smooth cold floor until she was propped up against a steel wall. A hand came around her neck as it held her against the wall, and a weight pinned her legs down. She tried to lash out with her arms, but they two were captured and pinned.  
  
"Let me go!" she yelled as tears came to her eyes. "Please...let me go..."  
  
"This will be for your own good, if you want to survive."  
  
She was then pulled away from the wall she was held against, into strong arms. Her protest was then silenced as she felt two warm lips meet her own and force her mouth to open. Soon, she could taste the sweet liquid that entered her mouth, and she stopped fighting long enough to drink in the tasteful liquid, closing her eyes as a sudden warmness filled her. Her breathing soon slowed as the liquid continued to be fed to her. As soon as she swallowed all that was given to her, she then felt the pressure on her mouth lessen and slowly move away.  
  
She opened her eyes slowly as she swallowed the last of the strange liquid, and she could only stare up at the familiar yellow eyes that met her gaze. The hand that was holding hers slowly released them, careful not to cause any pain to her injured shoulder.   
  
"Anala, can you hear me?"  
  
She continued to stare up at him, her eyes drifted to those lips that had shared her whatever it is he gave her. Medicine? She did not know, nor did she care. All her mind could dwell on was how comfortable those lips had felt. How warm they had been. And how she wanted to feel them again.   
  
And as if he had sensed her needs...he lowered his head to hers, to take her into a deep kiss. As the kiss deepened, Anala's mind was suddenly filled with images; memories not her own. She breathed in deeply as she surrendered her resolve and slowly, accepted the images that attacked her.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
Anala found herself standing in a small corridor that led to a rather large room. She breathed in deeply, wondering where this room was, but as she peered out into the room, she saw the Doom Guards standing at each entrance way, and pillar within the room. She then looked toward the front of the room and saw a younger King Zarkon, standing before a group of humans, with a young woman kneeling before him, separated from the rest.   
  
A sudden hand came to grab her own, and with a gasp, she saw that it was very young child. She looked down and realized that this was Prince Lotor. She was dressed in garb that would be significant of a Hand maiden, within the Castle Doom. She kneeled down to the little boy, as he held on tightly to her hand. Then Zarkon's voice echoed through-out the halls as he slapped the young woman who stood before him. The boy's grip, tightened in her own.  
  
"How dare you!"   
  
Anala winced when she watched him slap the girl again, causing her to fall to the ground. The group of humans who were kneeling before the king suddenly moved a little more away from where he stood, but several of the guards closed in on them.  
"I did not wish to anger you, sire," the woman sobbed. "I only wished to return home to see to my ailing father."  
  
"And what of your duties to me?" the King asked. "Do you think that you could just sneak off and leave us behind?"  
  
"No sire!" the woman pleaded. "I was only..."  
  
"And why take these slaves with you?" the King demanded. "Answer me wench!"  
  
"I...I cannot fly a ship on my own, sire!" she said. "I did not wish to anger you. So, I asked the guards to find me men who knew how to fly."  
  
"And my own guards were not sufficient enough for you to inquire with them?" the King asked. "They could have easily taken you to your home without question."  
  
He then saw her turn away from him and he then smiled. "Or was it your plan to see if you can escape, with these slaves, and never to return?"  
  
The woman could not meet his gaze.   
  
"What kind of woman would think only of herself?" he asked. "To leave her husband? HER ONLY SON!"  
  
Her silence was all that was needed to anger him further.  
  
"Bring my son!" the king demanded.  
  
A guard standing near Anala then turned to her. "You there, the King wants Prince Lotor, immediately."  
  
With a deep breath, Anala held the young boy's hand tightly in her own, and slowly made her way toward the group. The humans then parted way as she escorted the young boy up the dias to stand beside the king. It was then she could see the young woman and she suddenly realized who she was.  
  
Lotor's mother.  
  
She had hair that could rival Allura's; silken golden hair, as long as she was tall. It was unbelievably straight, but it only helped to augment the woman's own beauty. Her skin was smooth and cream in color; eyes as blue as the deepest oceans. Not one blemish marred her appearance in any way.  
  
"Answer me, wench!" the king yelled. "What kind of woman would leave behind her only son?!"  
  
The woman's gaze dropped from the King down to the little boy who stood nearby. For a fleeting moment, Anala also met her gaze, as she turned her head away.  
  
"I have no son," she stated simply.  
  
"What?!"  
  
The woman turned to the king, defiance in her eyes. Through clenched teeth, she said those same words again.  
  
"I have no son," she repeated.  
  
Anala stepped back as the king roared in anger. Without a word, a slight gesture from him signaled the guards. Anala turned her head away as the group of humans were all shot before them. The woman could only close her eyes, not wanting to face the carnage behind her.  
  
"That's what you get for betraying me!" he yelled.  
  
The woman opened her eyes as she stared at him. "You destroyed my life! My home! You take me away from those I loved and cared for!" she yelled. "Force me to live here, while I watch you destroy planets and ruin more lives. Force me to marry you! To have a child with you! I will never love you! I will never love anything about you! And for all that you have done to make my life a living nightmare, the only wish I have is to see you dead!"  
  
Anala let out a scream as she pulled Lotor away as the woman pulled out a long knife and went to attack the king. The guards in the room reacted, but held back when they saw that King was unharmed.  
  
Instead, the young woman was kneeling before him, as one of his hands held her by her neck, squeezing as he grabbed her arm that held the knife with his other hand. Twisting her arm, the knife she held slipped out of her hand. Bending down as he kept a tight hold on her neck, he picked up the knife off the ground and looked at it.  
  
"Our wedding gift from my father?" he asked. He brought her close to him as he squeezed harder around her neck. "How appropriate. You have one last chance, Ailya. Take back everything that you have said, and learn to appreciate everything that I've given you. Raise our son, to be strong."  
  
Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared up at him. Her hand then went to his that held the knife.  
  
"Go to hell," she said.   
  
She then pulled his arm toward her as the knife then entered her. She let out a gasp before she closed her eyes and fell limp before him.  
  
Zarkon released his hold on her, as he withdrew the knife from her now dead body. The young woman laid motionless on the dias, and he kicked her to turn her over.  
  
"Clean up this mess," the king ordered as he looked at the knife. He then turned to where Anala was standing, Lotor standing in front of her, staring at him. "That is lesson one in your meager, life, Lotor he simply stated. Those that defy you must be eliminated."  
  
Zarkon signaled for two guards, as one took the young prince away as Anala stood, staring at the King.  
  
"Kill the woman," he ordered. "From now on, no human will touch my son."  
  
"Yes, sire."  
  
A guard then stood behind Anala and forced her to kneel, all the while she could only stare at the little boy as he stared back at her.  
  
She then felt her head be pushed back, and the familiar feeling of cold steel at her neck. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
"LOTOR!"  
  
Anala quickly sat up, breathing in deeply. She swallowed hard, when she felt the pain in her left shoulder. Remembering that the robeast had speared her there, her hand went to her shoulder but felt that it was now bandaged.   
  
She looked around, seeing that a small light was set-up so that she could now see. She was lying on a makeshift bed, padded by what looked to be left over cushions from old chairs. The top she was original wearing lied nearby in shreds, looked to be forceably ripped, to make the bandage she now wore. She looked down at herself to see that a halter-top of sort was now around her.  
  
Sudden footsteps caused her to immediately lie back down and she closed her eyes as soon as she saw that it was Lotor. She held her breath a moment before letting it out slowly.  
  
She then felt him near her, his hands delicately checking the bandage on her left shoulder, tightening it where it needed. Just as he removed his hands, she caught one of his in hers and looked at him.  
  
"You're finally up," he stated.   
  
"Where am I?" she asked, refusing to let go of him.  
  
"About 20 stories below where we started," he stated. "If you don't let me go, you will lose that hand."  
  
Anala looked at him before releasing his hand. He moved away from her as she stared at him. She slowly pushed herself up so she could look around.  
  
"20 stories?" she asked.  
  
He nodded. "You saved us from going any deeper, or having us killed," he said. "Amazing that you could that with only one working wing."  
  
"I did?" she asked. She tried to remember what had happened, but all of it was a haze. She was in too much pain to even care. "Any ideas on how we can get out? As you stated, I have only one working wing. It wont be enough to get us out."  
  
"While you were taking your nap, I looked around a bit," he said. "There are several open stair wells that lead up to the higher levels, but we will have to work quickly."  
  
"Why?" she asked.  
  
"The medicine I gave you earlier will not last for long," he said. "You've already been exposed to the Lazon here for more than 12 hours. You don't have much time left."  
  
"Before I get sick?"  
  
"Before you die."  
  
She slowly nodded. She then realized that she was sitting there, somewhat half-naked before him.   
  
"Thank you for bandaging my shoulder," she said.  
  
"Call it even," he said as he stood. "Are you ready?"  
  
"Now?" she asked.  
  
"If you want to get out of here alive, we have to start now."  
  
With a grunt, Anala got to her feet. A sudden sense of dizziness hit her, which caused her to lose her balance. He moved in to catch her before she fell.  
  
"God, I feel like I need to vomit," she muttered.  
  
"The medicine is working at least," he said. "The feeling will pass, but we should get moving."  
  
"What about the others?" she said. "I heard an explosion."  
  
"We will concern ourselves about them, later," he said. "For now, lets just get moving."  
  
She could only nod. As soon as her head cleared, she followed behind him as they headed down a dark corridor...  
  



	14. Chapter 13

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com

Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################

----------------  
Chapter 13  
----------------

----- Argos------

The robeast attacked with full force, landing several hits to Voltron, jostling the pilots inside. Kit grew angrier by the minute as the battle between them and the giant creature continued into its second hour.

"Our systems are maintaining full levels," Teri announced. "But any more direct contact by that thing and our primary shields will be disabled."

Katherine nodded to herself. "Neive, any luck on finding a weakness?"

"Working on a theory," Neive stated. "Since Baryon is closest to diamond quality, there maybe a way to work on that aspect to weaken its armor."

"What do you have planned?"

"We are gonna lead a lot of power....and a loud speaker," he stated.

"What?" Katherine stated.

"If we emit a signal so loud, it may end up shattering the Baryon, to weaken the armor," he stated. "But, finding the right frequency is the hard part. If we can find the right frequency, the Baryon used within its armor can be shattered. And all we have left is to deal with the lazon, and we know the melting point of lazon.."

Katherine nodded. "Shane, you think you can handle that?" she asked.

"You bet," came his enthusiastic reply. "I'm starting calculations now."

"Neive, how much more time do we have?"

:"10 hours for you," Neive stated. "18 for the rest of us."

Katherine nodded. "Let's get this done quickly," she stated. "Im getting tired of this planet."

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

Keith pulled open the door on the vacant stairwell and let out a groan when he saw that it was filled with debris.

"This was the last one on this side of the building," he commented. He then turned toward Allura who stood, holding the small flash light in her hands. "I think we are out of options."

"I noticed an old elevator shaft back that way," she stated. "You think it might be empty to allow us to climb up?"

"We can give it a try," he stated as he approached her. "Do you want to rest a bit?"

She slowly nodded and watched as he walked over to one side of the corridor they were in and seated himself down. She followed and leaned against the wall before sitting down herself.

"Will we get out of here?" she asked.

"I trust that the others will be able to, and Kit is will see to it that we will get out of here," he said. He then wiped the sweat that started to form on his forehead. "Damn its getting hot."

She turned to him, then placed her hand against his forehead. "You're burning up," she stated. "The lazon is starting to affect you."

"Dr. Gorma stated that the antidote wouldn't last long,' he said. "That cuts our time down a bit, doesn't it?"

He turned to her seeing that she has yet to be affected by the lazon ore. "At least, you're not being affected by it yet."

"If you're being affected now, what about Anala?" she asked.

He met her gaze, knowing that he wasn't able to give Anala the antidote before she was thrown off the edge, while trying to brace Lotor's fall.

"Im sure she's doing fine," he stated, trying to hide his own worry.

Allura nodded as she turned away from him. "I hope they're both alright."

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

Lemille looked at Lance as he held open the door. She squeezed herself through the small opening and looked around.

"Yes, it's a stairwell of some sort," she said. "Its not blocked, from what I can see."

"Good," Lance said. "I hope your boyfriend and Pidge are doing fine at top."

"Sendrre?" she asked.

He nodded. "If that is his name."

She smiled. "He's not my boyfriend," she said. "He's my brother."

"Brother?"

She slowly nodded. She then walked back to the door and helped him to push it open even more. "We have the same mother. Our fathers are different."

"I see," he said. "Then how come both of you, you know...."

"Our mother had the special gift that attracted Yl-"

She went silent for a bit. "Don't you have, of your kind, people who defy all natural rules, who lived for the good, with special powers to help?"

Lance nodded slightly. "Yeah, a very long time ago," he said. "His name was Jesus."

"And what did he do for your people?"

"He was the son of our God," he said. "Born to a common father and mother, he grew up learning their trade, carpentry. He later found out that he was indeed the son of God, and that his mission on Earth was to help those who were less fortunate than others. He could cure the blind; mend the weak; give new meaning to those who had lost faith."

"And what happened to this Jesus?"

"A friend betrayed his trust, and he was crucified.."

"Then you see why, Roaman---"

"You think...you believe that this what happened to your people?" he asked. "That you were betrayed by Ylren?"

"It's what Roaman has always told us," she said. "But-"

"You think that all this time he's lied to you?"

She slowly nodded. "Ylren was my uncle, and he possessed great power," she said. "He came to Argos with his brother, to find those like he was. Here, he found Roaman, and he and his brother settled here on Argos. Why the Lazon didn't affect either of them remains a mystery, but his brother Eirick was able to have a family here; Im his daughter.

"It seems that this power that he posses was passed on to me, and my brother Sendrre was born as well with this great power. Ylren wanted to make sure we understood that we were special people, and many would not understand us.

:"Then one day, I came home to find Ylren, Roaman with my father, lying dead on the ground before them. Roaman told me that Ylren killed my father, because he was jealous."

"Well, lady, judging by today, I don't think it was Ylren who did it," Lance stated. "It was clear by Roaman's actions, that he is only after Ylren."

Lemille nodded. "We will have to find him, to find the truth," she stated. She then stared up into the stairwell. "He will pay for what he has done."

"And what happened to the people of this planet?" he asked.

She turned to him. "Roaman will pay for that as well."

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

"Okay, princess, on three,"

Allura looked at Hunk as he held his hands out for her. He slowly counted to three, and on the last count, she ran toward him. She stepped on his cupped hands and he was able to lift her to the next floor above them.

"Made it!" she yelled.

"What do you see, Princess?"

"More empty corridors," she called back down. "Hold on Hunk, let me see if I can find something to help you up."

Allura stood as she turned on the light from her belt. She looked around and spotted a door that was off its hinges. She smiled as she walked over to it and then dragged it over to the small hole in the floor. She then let it slide down, allowing for a ramp to be made. Hunk then climbed up the door to reach the floor she was on.

"That was exciting," Allura stated. "We should now be only two floors from the top."

"Good thing we didn't fall that far," he said. "Man, I hope the others are alright."

"I know Hunk," she stated. "Let's keep going."

"Its getting so hot down here," he stated. "Im about to burst from this heat."

Allura could only nod. She knew better that it wasn't the heat that was affecting them. Having seen what exposure to pure lazon can do, she slowly placed her hand to her own head. She was starting to feel a fever develop. She knew their time was growing short.

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

"Got it!" Shane yelled. "Kit, I need you to get in between those smaller processing plants on the far side."

Katherine spied the smaller buildings behind the robeast.

"Easier said than done, Shane," she said. "What's up?"

"We can use those buildings to help augment the frequency," he stated, "But, im programming the correct frequency right now."

"Good work, Shane," Katherine stated. "Neive, know of any way that we can get around that thing so we can be in perfect position?"

"Just about done with it," he stated. "Im sending you the plan right now."

Katherine studied her view screen before her. She then smiled to herself as she focused her attention on the hulking monster.

"Man, I wish the others could see this battle," Teri commented. "They'd be in for a treat."

"Don't worry, Terri, Im sure you will be telling this story to your grandkids," LiAnne said. "We're ready, Kit."

Katherine nodded as she grabbed onto her controls. "Let's just show who exactly is the boss here."

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

Anala fell to her knees as nausea started to settle in. She leaned up against the side wall of the corridor they were walking, leaning against it as she felt as if her whole body was now burning up. She wanted to so much, tear away the clothes she wore so she could cool down.

She then gasped in pain, as her left shoulder throbbed. She breathed in deeply, clenching her teeth as tears edged at her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

She looked up to see Lotor standing above her. She slowly shook her head as she fought back the pain she felt.

"I can't go on," she said in between deep breaths. "My head is spinning; my shoulder is aching."

He kneeled down before her as he held the light up to her. She watched as his expression changed from inquistive to concern. He then placed the light on the ground between them.

"You're bleeding again," he said. "That's why you're feeling weak."

"Just leave me" she said. "I'm just slowing you down."

"And have your brother come after me for not getting you back up to the top?" he asked. "Don't think me for a fool."

Anala could only look at him. "Why do you have so hatred for him?" she asked as he looked closer at her shoulder.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked. He then pulled her forward to lean against him, slowly undoing the makeshift bandage.

She swallowed hard. "Is it because he protects princess Allura?" she asked.

The question went unanswered as he removed he last layer of the bandage. He then let out a hiss.

"This is going to hurt, but I have to seal this wound," he said.

Anala closed her eyes. "Do what you have to," she said.

She watched as he pulled a small knife from the belt he wore. He unsheathed it, then hit the hilt of it against the wall. The knife then began to glow and he brought it close to her shoulder.  
"Breathe in deeply."

Anala nodded. She then let out a scream as he brought the heated blade against her skin. She grabbed onto him as she breathed in deeply.

"Keep my mind off this," she said as he placed the knife against her skin again.

"No, it isn't because he protects Allura," he said after a while, moving his knife around the wound on her shoulder. "Its because I've never met anyone who was my match, in combat before."

Anala closed her eyes. "He's trained for years," she said.

"And so did I," he said. "Since I was just a child."

"Your father sent you away to train?" she asked.

"He wanted me to be ready, to be able to handle any situation that may arise."

She looked up at him. "Why didn't he just let you stay on Doom?" she asked.

He then pulled her forward and looked at the wound on her back. "There was no one on Doom that would be able to train me," he said as he brought his knife to work on the wound there.

"What about your mother?"

She felt him stop, then resume. "I never knew her," he stated. "She died when I was just a child. I don't remember her; save for some dreams I've had over the years."

Anala's eyes then widened. She realized at that moment that the dream she had before was real. That the dream was indeed memories of a time from his childhood. He was present when his father murdered his mother before his eyes.

"Your father remarried soon after didn't he?"

"At least three times," he said. "Zeya's mother was the last."

"What happened to her?"

"She was caught trying to flee Doom with a slave from the pits," he said. "Trying to return to Arus."

"Was she killed?"

"Thrown into the pit of skulls with the rest of the slaves who have tried to escape before," he said.

He then pushed her gently back to lean up against the wall again. He then ripped the sleeves from the shirt he was wearing, tearing them into smaller strips.

"That should take care of the bleeding, but it wont stop any infections from forming," he said as he began to wrap her shoulder. "You will need to see a doctor after all of this is over."

"Where did you learn all of this?" she asked.

"When I was training on the other Drule planets in the empire, there were no doctors to mend your wounds for you," he said. "You learned quickly to tend to your own scrapes and bruises."

Anala slowly nodded as she closed her eyes.

"No, you have to stay awake," he said as he sat down next to her. "You're going into shock."

"Im just so tired," she said as she fought to keep her eyes open. "Its just so hot."

"Stay awake, Anala," he said as he pulled her into his arms.

The sudden movement caused pain to shoot through her left side, which caused her to open her eyes. She met his gaze, remembering the look the little boy had given her in her dreams.

"Ailya," she whispered. "Your mother's name was Ailya."

"How - how do you know?"

She shook her head as she fought to stay awake. "She was so beautiful," she said. "Her eyes were so blue...but they seemed so sad. She was very unhappy; she wanted so much to see her father again.."

"Anala?."

"She had long golden hair; it was so beautiful," she mumbled. "I wish I had hair as beautiful as hers."

She then looked up at him as she brought her hand up to the side of his face.

"She would have been so proud of you," she said. "She was defiant against your father, but she did love you."  
"Stop it!" he nearly yelled at her as he pulled her to sit before him. "Don't speak of her that way."

Anala could only stare at him as he held her by her arms. She winced as her shoulder throbbed, but the anger she saw in his eyes at that moment was enough to silence her.

"You don't have to do anything to make your father respect you," she said. "You're fighting with the Voltron Force; all to prove what? That you are a capable warrior? A fighter? What has he done to show respect to you?"

"Anala, you tread on dangerous waters.."

"You will never find happiness if you live your life to please the one man who was responsible for your mother's death!"

Anala gasped as she saw his hand quickly raise above her. She stared at him, awaiting for him to hit her; but he did not strike.

"You have nothing to prove," she said.

"I have everything to lose."

She could only shake her head. "Not everything," she stated.

She felt her strength leave her and she fell into his arms. She breathed in deeply as she felt her whole body shudder from both the pain and fatigue. She could only close her eyes as she listened to his breathing and the beating of his heart.

"You will never gain anything if you continue this path of self-destruction," she said. "You will drive away those that do care for you."

"All I've ever known from those who do care, is nothing but heartache."

"Not everyone who cares will do that to you."


	15. Chapter 14

########################################################################   
Enemy My Friend   
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################  
  
----------------  
Chapter 14  
----------------  
  
----- Argos------  
  
Keith could not walk any more as he fell to his knees, exhausted. He couldn't believe how hot he felt, and slowly unzipped his uniform top to remove it. His undershirt stuck to him as his body fought back the lazon poisoning he was experiencing.  
  
"Keith?"  
  
He looked up as Allura approached him. She kneeled next to him as she placed her hand against his head.  
  
"You're really burning up," she said. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Like someone put me into an oven," he said. "Let's just rest for a moment."  
  
"We have more stories, to climb," she stated. "If we don't make it out soon."  
  
Keith shook his head as he breathed in deeply. "If I keep going at this rate, I will never make it out," he said.  
  
She let out her breath as she looked at him. "How much more time?"  
  
"We've been down here for three hours," he said. "We've been on this planet for almost 5."  
  
She slowly nodded, then watched as his eyes became heavy. She leaned forward and shook him.   
  
"No, you have to stay awake," she said. "Don't fall asleep. The poisoning will happen quicker if you fall asleep."  
  
"Its just too much," he said.  
  
"Fight it," she said as she shook him again. "I need you to help me get out of here."  
  
She then gasped as he held a knife to her. She backed away from him as he got to his feet, kneeling as he stared at her.  
  
"You liar," she said. "I thought you were ill."  
  
"Unlike you, Princess Zeya?" he stated. "I am getting sick, but not that much."  
  
She stared at him, then smiled as she dissolved the illusion she wore and then stared at him.  
  
"How did you know it was me?" she asked.  
  
"Tell-tale signs," he stated. "Also she doesn't wear that particular perfume you do."  
  
She slowly nodded. "I figured you wouldn't help me if you saw that I was the one that got stuck with you," she said. "Your princess is with your large friend."  
  
"How did we get stuck together?"  
  
"When I set off the last explosion, I was closest to you at the time," she said. "I slowed our fall, but it wasn't enough to stop us from falling so far."  
  
Keith then slowly stood as he stared down at her, putting his knife back into his belt. "Unlike your brother, princess, I never leave anyone behind. Even if they are my enemy."  
  
He extended his hand to her. She looked at it, then accepted it as he helped her to her feet. He then met her gaze.  
  
"So, no more charades," he said. "We are still a long ways from where we need to be. And time is running out."  
  
"The lazon poisoning will be affecting you in due time," she said. "What will happen then?"  
  
"I'm hoping that we are back up at the top by the time we do."   
  
He looked at her one last time before continuing down the corridor. Zeya let out a grunt as she followed behind.  
  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
"Do you think you can continue?"  
  
Anala shook her head as she breathed in deeply. "My head is swimming," she stated. " I don't think I'll be able to stand."  
  
She was lying on a makeshift bed, from spare cushions of chairs that were found in nearby rooms, as the he sat close by. They had spent the time in silence since her outburst, and the light from the small flashlight was now flickering, casting strange shadows on the walls behind them, as it battery started to fail. She mainly dwelled on how much effort he was trying to keep her going, instead of just leaving her there.  
  
"Just leave me here."  
  
"No, I will stay here."  
  
"Until I die?" she asked.  
  
"Until they come to rescue you."  
  
She looked up at him. "You know you don't have to stay," she said.  
  
"Why do you want me to go?"  
  
"This is unlike you."  
  
"And you know me?"  
  
"Only from what Allura and..."  
  
"Your brother?"  
  
She slowly nodded.  
  
"If I was anything that your brother says, I would have killed you already," he said as he stood. He then picked up the small light, turning it off before tossing it aside.  
  
"Yes, I guess you would," she stated. "Then why have you, kept me alive?"  
  
"You intrigue me." He then came to kneel beside her, placing a hand to her forehead. "You're fever is getting worse."  
  
Anala could only nod as he eyes started to adjust to the dark. She then looked to him. "Then that other night, why did you want to talk to me?"  
  
"To tell me what happened on Vallis all those months ago," he said. "And why your image has haunted my dreams these past months."  
  
"My image?" she asked.   
  
"I sent Zeya to Vallis to find more about you," he stated. "And she came back with information concerning your brother. But I wanted to speak with you to see if you were the one that I saw in my dreams."  
  
"The side effect of the spell Xue placed on you," she said. "It can't hide events from your subconscious memories."  
  
"When I did meet with you, you didn't seem frightened."  
  
"Was there a reason why I should be?"  
  
"Many are."  
  
"Because of who you are?" she asked. "I don't see you that way."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I tend to see a lot of people differently," she said. "And I don't see any reason to be afraid of you."  
  
"You place your trust on the wrong people," he stated.  
  
"You doubt those around you to trust you."  
  
Anala then let out a cough causing her to go into a fit. She groaned as the action caused the pain in her shoulder to worsen. She felt his arms tighten around her, to calm her as she shuddered.  
  
"It's getting harder to breathe," she said.  
  
"Your lungs are filling with mucous," he said. "The second sign for the poisoning."  
  
She slowly nodded, but then soon smiled to herself. "You know, I had started working on the plans for this celebration we were going to hold on Vallis," she started. "It was going to be a grand celebration, in honor of all those that have fought under the kings of the past, and died trying to free themselves from Kelar's rule.  
  
"To celebrate life, to have the freedom to chase your dreams, live life without being hindered, and to love those you care for," she said. "Do you care for others?"  
  
"You're rambling," he stated. "Save your energy."  
  
"I loved once," she went on as tears edge at her eyes. "But we knew we could never be together the way it should be. So resigned ourselves to be just friends. To be there for each other when we needed. Loyal to one another. Who is loyal to you, Lotor?"  
  
"At this point in time, my loyalty only lies with Zeya," he simply stated.  
  
"And is she loyal to you?"  
  
"As much as she allows herself to be," he stated. "She knows what will happen if she decides to cross me."  
  
"And she does this because she cares for you?"  
  
"She's the only one that has," he stated. "Why did you make the effort to save me when the robeast attacked?"  
  
She met his gaze. "As I said before, Lotor, you will have no reason not to trust me," she said. She felt his hand trace the line of her chin, as she stared up at him. "And many people go out of their way to protect the ones that they care for; the ones that they lo---"  
  
She then breathed in deeply as she was taken into a deep kiss. She closed her eyes, as she responded to him, her arms slowly coming to encircle around him as she held him close. And as the kiss went on, the more her heart ached to be with him.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
"We're almost to the top," Allura said as she looked back at Hunk. "Then we'll be able to get to Katherine and see if we can get to the others."  
  
"I just want to get back to Arus, and see what kind of food Nanny has cooked up for us," he stated. "Can you belive, Im dying to even hear Nanny yelling at us for taking too long!"  
  
Allura smiled as she turned back to look down the corridor they were walking. She then stopped in mid-stride as Hunk bumped into her.  
  
"What the..."  
  
He looked up and saw the reason why she had stopped. The old man, Roaman was standing, aiming a laser pistol at the both of them, as he blocked their only way out.  
  
"So, you have made it as well?" he asked with a sneer. "Where are the others?"  
  
"We have no idea," Allura stated. "Thanks to you, we were all trapped down here."  
  
"Well then, I've still yet to claim my revenge," he said. "And if you two are still alive, Im assuming that your captain is as well. Till then, you two will serve as my...bait."  
  
"You think we are gonna help you in your crazy scheme?" Hunk asked.  
  
"Oh, no, my large friend," the old man stated. "But I know she will."  
  
He then aimed the laser pistol at Allura, and fired.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
Keith let out a gasp as he lost his footing on the ladder he and Zeya were climbing in the elevator shaft. Zeya looked up to see that he was hanging by one of the rungs of the ladder by one arm; after some effort, he was able to gain his footing again.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked.  
  
Keith breathed in deeply, suddenly feeling a sense of dread wash over him. He looked up the elevator shaft as if knowing something bad has happened.  
  
"Something's wrong," he stated. "Something's happened."  
  
"What?" Zeya asked.  
  
"I don't know," he said as he looked down at her. "But we have to get the surface, quick."  
  



	16. Chapter 15

########################################################################  
Enemy My Friend  
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com

Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
Warning: Contains Adult Situations.  
########################################################################

----------------  
Chapter 15  
----------------

----- Argos------

Katherine gritted her teeth as the robeast just countered another move.

"Neive, you have that plan ready?" she called over the comlink. "I don't think this robeast is gonna give us any more time."

"Just about," Neive stated. "There. I have the information from Shane programmed in. Its now up to you."

Katherine breathed in deeply and grabbed the controls tightly.

"Let's just see what this baby can do."

Katherine then brought Voltron into an attack stance, and watched as the robeast waited for their next move.

"You think you've seen what we can do?" she nearly yelled. "Don't ever underestimate what we can do!"

She then pushed forward on her controls.

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

Anala closed her eyes savoring the warmth that enveloped her. She gasped as she felt the light touch of warm lips, against her exposed neck, suddenly becoming aware to everything around her.

A sudden shift in weight above her, caused her to meet his gaze. As he took her into a deep kiss again, she felt his arm pull her right arm to hold it above her head against the cushion below her, and his other arm wrap around her small waist. She then arched her back as he trailed a string of kisses from her lips, down the side of her neck. She breathed in hard, suddenly aware that the pressure around her chest was then released, as the makeshift halter-top she wore was removed.

She then let out a soft moan as the hand that held her right armed pinned above her, let her go, and danced down her arm, light touching her as it traveled down the length of her arm then caress the soft skin by her shoulder. She then closed her eyes as she felt him remove the thin cloth that served to cover her, leaving her exposed to him.

Her mind and heart raced, but she fully surrendered to the sensations she was experiencing. His touch felt like electricity against her skin. His kisses trailed along her neck, and across her collar; leaving her skin hot where he touched her.

She could feel the urgency in his touches; the experience of being intimate before, was in every motion he made. He knew exactly where to touch her, to illicit the type of response she made; making her body yearn for more.

Her mind raced, taking in every sensation, as well as dwelling on the entire moment. Here she was, locked in intimate embrace with the very man that was a sworn enemy to the Voltron Force and most of the Galaxy Alliance. Yet, she knew that there was more to him, that she could see, beyond the façade he portrayed. Deep down, she saw him for what was truly him; and that is what made her realize that she was in love with him. The man that was trying so desperately to find his own identity, but failing in the eyes of the one person who seemed to matter the most to him.

At this moment, however, she surrendered to what her body yearned. The touch of him, the smell of him; it engulfed her every being. She responded fully to him as he held her close to him with one arm, and his other was free to travel her body, caressing her skin softly. She let out a soft moan as his hand came close to the swell of her breasts, causing her to arch into him. She then felt his hand travel the side of her body as it then hooked into the hem of the pants she wore. She then felt him push on it, to pull it over her hips. Before she could contemplate fully on what was happening, the article of clothing was freed from her, and she laid there fully unclothed now.

She then noticed his actions were now becoming more aggressive, as he pulled her more into his hold, taking her into a kiss again, then kissing down her neck, across her collar, then slowly made a trail of kisses over her bosom. She felt his arm pull her right leg over him and then come to rest on her waist as he held her.

As his hand left her waist, she brought her free hand to rest against his chest. She could only meet his gaze, but he shifted her so she was completely on her back. His left arm again pulled her leg over him. With his right hand, he pulled off the shirt he wore, and it was then she realized that they both lay, completely exposed to each other. She had no time to dwell as her leg was pushed up further; she could feel the muscles tightening in his legs as he positioned himself over her.

He then pulled her against him, her breasts brushing against his bare chest, as he entwined his fingers within her own; and taking her into a deep kiss, with a sudden jerk, she let out a moan as he was soon inside her.

They remained motionless for a moment. Anala could only breathe in deeply, trying to accustom herself to the new sensation. Tears formed at her eyes, knowing that this was what she wanted; and that this may be the only time in her life, she could experience it; experience true love for the first time.

As she opened her eyes again, she met his gaze. She then felt his hands frame her face, wiping the tears that threatened to spill. She could only respond by bringing her own hand to the side of his face, and she brought her head up to kiss him.

She then breathed in deeply as he began his slow movement, in and out of her. She arched her back as his thrusts became faster, and deeper. She felt his hands roam her body, causing her to revel in the new sensation washing over her. Warm lips traveled the length of her body, kissing a trail from her neck down between her breasts, and soon one hand was caressing one of her mounds. She clenched her teeth as she breathed in, and her breathing became labored as she felt his mouth upon her other breast.

Anala surrendered her mind and body; as they continued to make love together. It felt like she was in heaven. She was floating in out of a haze; her body responding to every movement he made. As they continued, the more she didn't want it to end; her body moving with his, joined together in this moment. She knew that she did not know when they would be together again, if they made it out alive, but she was glad to have this moment. There was so much that she learned about who he was, but she wanted to know more. And she wanted to have him know who she was. Regardless of who she was, she wanted to know that she was the one that loved him. That she was the one that would be there to care for him. The more she realized her love for him, the more she wanted this to last as long as it could. She held him close to her, as they continued into the night.

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/Zeya breathed in deeply as she struggled to push the doors open. They had reached as far as they could in the elevator shaft they were climbing, as an old elevator was stuck in the shaft above them.

Keith braced the door open as he reached down to pull her up. With one tug, he was able to bring her through the open doors and move out of the way as they slid close.

Zeya breathed heavily as she stared at him then at the doors. She then bowed her head as she rested.

"This is just too much," she said. "We've been climbing that for nearly 2 hours."

"We were farther down than we thought," he said as he kneeled before her. "And we still have more floors to climb."

She slowly nodded as she got to her feet. "Maybe the stairwells on this level are not blocked," she said.

He nodded in agreement then slowly got to his feet. And as soon as he did, he felt as if his very soul was suddenly ripped out of him. He fell to his knees, dizzy, and suddenly exhausted.

"Keith?" Zeya asked. "What's wrong?"

"I - I don't ..." before he could finish, he fell to the ground before him, unconscious.

"Keith!"

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Katherine pulled back on her controls as she brought the Blazing Sword down across the robeast. The armor it wore, only deflected the blow, but it achieved the action that she wanted.

She was able to get past it, to head toward the two processing plants that they needed to execute their plan.

"Neive, are you ready?" she asked quickly. "I don't think that robeast is going to give us some leeway."

"Ready!"

"Shane, execute your sound wave."

Shane nodded as he pressed a button on his console. Katherine could only hold her controls still as she steadied Voltron between the plants. The shield symbol upon Voltron's chest suddenly started to glow. Katherine and the others then braced themselves as a sonic noise was suddenly released, augmented by the plants they were standing in between of. The robeast started to attack them, but was then stopped in its place as the full force of the sound hit it. Katherine watched her view-screen as the the armor it wore began to crack in places, and soon, the robeast was left defenseless.

"LiAnne, now!"

The Red Lion then came forth and released a volley of missiles and flame to engulf the robeast.

"Now, to send this thing to hell!"

Katherine readied, as she held the Blazing Sword within Green Lions grip. She then pushed on her controls and went into a run. With one giant swing, the Blazing Sword sliced through the robeast, this time without trouble.

As she brought Voltron to a stop, the robeast let out a loud roar before exploding behind them.

"We did it!" Shane yelled. "My lord, we did it!"

Katherine could only nod, as she turned to face the plant that now lay in ruins.

"Yes, but at what cost."

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Keith breathed in deeply as he stared at the fountain before him.

Again with the fountain. Why was he drawn to this place? He turned around as he watched the strange people walk the roads, of this bustling town.

" ' The Argosians were an intellectual people, ' "

He quickly turned around to see the young man he had seen before come toward him.

" ' They were well into space travel long before many knew what it was, ' "

Keith stared at him. "You are Ylren, aren't you?"

The young man turned to him. " ' Yes - and no ' " he stated. " ' Im merely, a stray memory of who he was , '"

"A memory?"

The young man nodded. " ' Everyone carries with them, the memories of those who came before them, ' " he stated. " ' In you, you carry my memories. As does your sister; your mother; and all those that came before you. '"

"I don't understand," Keith stated. "Are you saying that I am related to you?"

The young man smiled. " ' I thought that much was obvious, ' " he stated. " ' Otherwise, you wouldn't have experienced all that you have gone through. You were destined to follow in my footsteps. '"

He then smiled to himself. " ' But to my surprise, you were unwilling to do so, '" he stated. " ' Why is that? '"

"The only thing I want is to be who I am," Keith stated. "Im just someone who wants to live his own life."

Ylren only nodded. " ' Which is why Kelar failed so miserably, '" he said.

"Kelar?" he asked. "How was he ever allowed to.."

" ' Kelar too, is a descendant, ' " Ylren stated. " ' He was actually the ancestor of my sister..'"

Keith noticed that he went silent. "What is it?"

" ' My sister was raped, when she was going through her Nilan, ' " he stated. " ' And through that action, she was driven insane, when she gave birth to a son. ' "

" ' I fought with the elders to seek guidance for her, in her time of need, ' " he said. " ' It was at that time, they discovered that I was going through my own turmoil. They were so incessant on keeping tabs on me, that my sister was left without the help she needed. She took her own life so she could not face with having to raise a child that was born out of a violent act. That was one of the reasons why I left Vallis, when I did. '"

"The son, he was - "

" ' Taken in by the elders, to be raised under their care, '" he explained. " ' Since I left, they wanted to see if the gifts I was blessed with would also manifest within others of my family. Little did they know that it was my brother who would pass on those gifts. '"

"The man I saw, in my dreams," Keith stated as he stepped toward him. "The one that Roaman killed?"

Ylren nodded. " ' We came to Argos because we sensed others like us, '" he said. " ' There we met Roaman, a young lord, who happened to be powerful. Among his people, they regarded him with respect however, I knew that he possessed the same gifts as I did.

" ' We stayed here on Argos, unknowingly, playing right into Roaman's hands, '" he continued. " ' My brother married a young maiden here; I remained here since I knew that going back to Vallis would mean that I would have to face those who betrayed my trust.

" ' You have met my brother's child, Lemille? '"

"Yes," Keith stated. "But, if they are from your time?"

Ylren nodded. " ' We have the gift of long life, '" he stated. " ' As do you, '" he said. Then he went silent as he looked at him. " ' That is if you want it. '"

"What do you mean?"

" ' You can choose to live a long life, '" he said. "' Or live like a normal human; that is your choice. '"

"But, how did you..."

" ' Die? ' " he asked. " ' Lemille '"

"What?" he asked.

" ' Unlike us, we developed the powers we have, ' " he said. " ' Your dream, do you remember what happened? '"

"After Roaman killed your brother, Lemille came into the room," Keith stated.

" ' She was gifted from birth, ' " Ylren stated. " ' She was overwrought with anger and sadness over the death of her father, that her emotions controlled her every being.

" ' She's the one responsible for all life on this planet, to disappear, '" Ylren stated. " ' But, that was the gift she was born with. '"

"What?" Keith asked as he looked around. "All of this? She's the one?"

Ylren nodded. " ' She has the ability to drain the essence from life itself, '" he said. " ' Roaman saw this in her, and knew that if he had control over it, he could use her against those that defied him.

" ' But, in murdering her father, he underestimated the exact strength of what her power could do. ' " he continued. " ' In her anger, because she was told that I was responsible for her father's death, she drained me of my powers; my gifts; and caused the destruction of this planet. '"

Ylren then stared at the fountain before him. " ' To this day, I don't think she realizes that she was the one, who caused all of this, '" he stated. " ' When all of that happened, Roaman was secretly discussing plans with the Drule Empire; leaders of the nearby planet, the one you now call Doom. Roaman knew that the Drules wanted the Lazon on this planet to use for their war machines, but without laborers to do their work for them, Roaman knew that he would have a hard time convincing the leaders of this planet to offer the lazon for trade.

" ' When Lemille ' " he paused for a moment. " ' Let's just say that his labor force was suddenly eliminated when he took it upon himself to betray me. Roaman was suddenly stuck in a situation where he could not deliver his promised supply to that of the Drule Empire. So intern, they came and took whatever mined supplies that were left. '"

"Which is why Roaman is angry with King Zarkon?" Keith asked.

Ylren slowly nodded. " ' The lazon stolen from this planet was used by his forefathers to build their empire, ' " he continued. " ' Something Roaman feels that he should have been paid for. '"

"The people of this planet died, and even in that time, he was still only concerned about what he could gain?" Keith asked.

" ' The only assets he had were Sendrre and Lemille, ' " he stated. " ' Roaman decided that everything that had happened, would not have happened if my brother and I had never appeared on Argos, seeking him. He felt that we --- I was responsible for all that he has lost. '"

"Which is why he wants to confront you."

" ' Which is why he wants to confront you,' " he stated. " ' Since you, in essence, are now me. '"

"I don't understand."

Ylren only smiled. " ' I am dead, Captain, '" he stated. " ' My powers however, live on through you. You carry all that was me, within you. That's what Roaman doesn't understand. '"

"I think Im in the same boat," Keith stated. "Then all that had happened on Lysia - "

Ylren then smiled. " ' No, that was entirely me, '" he stated. " ' Your sister, was right in her conclusions, that you are pretty much serving as a vessel for my - spirit to live on. What Kelar did to you on Lysia, I knew I had to end. '"

"Then why are you appearing to me now?" Keith asked.

" ' We all have a road in life, that we follow,' " he stated. " ' And some of us get a 2nd chance to take the right road. I followed the wrong road, and now, Im have the chance to make the right decisions. '"

"What do you mean?"

" ' That I cannot say, '" he stated. " ' But know, that after today..I will no longer cause you--- what have called, grief in your life.'"

"But-"

" ' No need to explain Captain,'" he stated. " ' I know it was said more to placate Roaman, but I know I've caused enough problems for everyone. I owe you that much. '"  
"What is going to happen?"

" ' That, you will have to see, Captain, '" he stated. " 'But, today, I ask that you trust Prince Lotor and Princess Zeya, even if you feel that you shouldn't. Your sister's life, will depend on your cooperation with them. '"

"Her life?"

" ' The lazon poisoning is already affecting her, because of her injuries, and the antidote made to combat it will not work with her. Unless she is taken off this planet soon, she will die, '"

"We know..."

" ' You will have to trust Prince Lotor to see to her health, '" he stated. "' He will help her. '"

"How do you know?"

Ylren only smiled. " ' Don't worry, Captain, '" he said. " 'You still have to face Roaman again. But I wont be with you to help. '"

"Why?"

" ' Because my time here, is now over, '" he said. " 'Remember, second chances. '"

"How are we supposed to defeat him?"

" ' Lemille, '" he stated. " ' She has the power to stop him; but she must be made to realize that she was responsible for what happened here. Though she must understand why it happened. '"

"How will I be able to tell her?"

" ' Your sister,'" he stated as he started to walk away from him. " ' Remember, Captain, second chances. '"

Before Keith could ask again, the scene before him grew dark and the young man faded from view. He then felt dizzy as he fell to his knees.

" ' Oh Captain, do you wish to have a long life? '" the question echoed through his mind. " ' Or live normally, with those you love? '"

"Long life isn't worth living if you can't share it with those you love."

" ' Wise choice, Captain. '"

And with that, his world was then silenced.


	17. Chapter 16

########################################################################  
Enemy My Friend  
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com  
  
Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
Warning: Contains Adult Situations.  
########################################################################  
  
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Chapter 16  
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----- Argos------  
  
Katherine slowly used Voltron to pull the debris from the processing plant, careful to not move any of the metal beams that would cause a cave-in. Slowly, she was able to pull most of the debris away as the building collapsed outwards. There she could see the gaping hole, made by earlier explosions, but could not find her friends anywhere.  
  
"Man, where are they?" LiAnne's voice came over the comlink. "You don't think they fell into that hole?"  
  
"They could have," Neive stated. "Im running a bio scan."  
  
Katherine gritted her teeth as she continued to work around the debris, removing what she could.  
  
"Yes," he stated. "Detecting 10 life forms..."  
  
"Ten?" Katherine asked. "There should have been eleven."  
  
"Well, ten is all that I have on screen," Neive stated. "And one, Im already detecting a weak life sign."  
  
"Okay, we split." Katherine ordered. "Shane, your lion is the smallest, so you're going to have to work with Neive on seeing if the others are below ground, in that hole. We will continue to work on dismantling this building to give us more room."  
  
"Aye, aye captain," Neive and Shane said at the same time.  
  
Katherine initiated the disconnect sequence and Neive was quick to land his lion then be picked up by Shane in the Green lion.  
  
  
"Please, please be alive," Katherine mumbled as she worked with LiAnne and Teri to continue to make more room.  
  
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Lance looked up smiling to see daylight suddenly flood the floor they were on. He took Lemille's hand and they ran toward the end of the floor, where it was cut-off by the explosion. He looked up, and almost jumped for joy when he saw the Green Lion.  
  
"Down here!" he yelled, trying to signal the lion ship. And as if it noticed they were there, the lion ship headed toward them, its large mechanical mouth opening.  
  
Lance smiled when he saw Neive standing within the mouth, motioning for them to jump aboard. Neive helped Lemille aboard as Shane maneuvered in the tight area to bring them to the surface.  
  
"Where are the others?" Neive asked.  
  
"Hunk and Allura were above us," Lance stated. "Princess Zeya and Keith fell farther than us."  
  
"What about Lotor and Anala?" Neive asked.  
  
"They fell long before we did," Lance stated. "We don't know, nor have we heard anything from them."  
  
"We met Pidge and Sendrre up top, but could not find Hunk or Allura," Neive stated. "And we only count ten life signs, not eleven."  
  
"Well, in all the commotion, we lost sight of Roaman," Lance stated. "You think that he didn't make it?"  
  
Neive could only shrug. "We'll bring you up to the top then we'll go ahead and search for the others."  
  
"Your lion isn't going to go any deeper into this hole," Lemille stated.  
  
"Shane and I will lower ourselves down on cables, if need be," Neive stated. "Lance, you think you can guide us down?"  
  
"Easy as pie," Lance stated. "Come on, we are running short on time."  
  
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Zeya looked up as she neared the edge of the floor they were on. Looking up to notice that substantial amount of daylight now flooded the area. Keith was leaning against her as she helped him walk, finding himself suddenly weak.  
  
She then let out a gasp when someone on a cable swung down to her.  
  
"Princess Zeya, I assume?" Neive asked as he looked at her.  
  
She could only nod, seeing that he was wearing the familiar uniform. "You guys were able to take care of the Robeast?"  
  
Neive nodded. " That was some monster you brought with you," he stated. "But, we were able to figure out its defenses."  
  
"Your captain, is getting sick," she stated. "We need to get him off this planet."  
  
Neive nodded as he reached out to her. "I'll take him up," he said. "But, wrap this around your waist."  
  
  
Neive handed her a harness and then helped her with Keith. As soon as she had the harness around her, he pressed a button on his belt and slowly the cable lifted all three of them toward the surface.  
  
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Lotor held Anala close to him as he carried her through the corridors. He had climbed several levels before coming to rest on a floor where the stairwell was blocked by debris.  
  
Anala's breathing was becoming raspy, coughing quite often as her body struggled to fight the poisoning. He knew already that the wound she received had only accelerated the poisoning, and her life now hung by whatever strength she had left. Knowing Lazon poisoning, he knew that there was nothing that human medicine could do to save her life.  
  
Just as he came to rest, a bright light then shown down the corridor he was walking. He quickly ran toward the source, then saw that someone was exploring the levels to find any survivors. He signaled for the person to where he was. Without anything being spoken, their rescuer took Anala and then helped the both of them to the surface.  
  
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"Neive, what about Hunk and Allura?" Shane asked over his com system. "All the life signs show they are on the surface now."  
  
"On the surface?" Neive asked.  
  
"I detect no one else in the lower levels," Shane stated.  
  
"Contact Katherine and the others," Neive stated as he lowered himself to the ground. "I'll stay here till you guys return."  
  
Shane gave his reply before leaving with his lion to meet with the others. Neive looked around and saw that everyone was gathered around where they had put Keith and Anala to lay.  
  
There he could see that Keith was slowly waking from his ordeal, but he seemed weak. However, Anala still lay unconscious, as her condition continued to worsen.  
  
Lance was quick to push Lotor aside as he knelt down beside her, pulling the small med pack from his belt. He took off his gloves as he checked her over.  
  
"She's burning up," Lance commented. He took out his pen light and shined the light into her eyes. "Pupils are dialated, unresponsive."  
  
"There is nothing you can do for her, Terran," Lotor stated as Zeya came to stand next to him. "The poisoning has already taken its effect on her."  
  
Lance was quick to turn his anger on him. "What do you know?" he nearly yelled.  
  
"Lance."  
  
The Red Lion pilot then turned to where Neive was kneeling, as he was helping Keith to sit-up.  
  
"There's nothing we can do," Keith stated. "She is already beyond what we can do for her."  
  
"What are you saying?" Lance asked. "That we can't save her?"  
  
"Yes, that is exactly what he is saying."  
  
The group then turned as they watched as Roaman entered the area they were in. "And that you wont be able to save the life of your princess, either."  
  
With a motion of his hand, Hunk was brought out by one of the last doom guards under Roaman's control, carrying Allura in his arms. He then waved his hand that was holding the laser pistol, letting the guard know to let the large voltron force member to approach them.  
  
Keith immediately stood, but Neive had to help him to his feet to keep him steady. Hunk was quick to place Allura on the ground before him, near where Anala was lying.  
  
Neive helped Keith over to where they were.  
  
"I - I couldn't stop him," Hunk stated as tears edged at his eyes. "But he caught us by surprise."  
  
Keith went up to his friend as he looked over Allura. She laid motionless before him, and he winced when he saw the tell-tale sign of the laser blast. Hunk removed his hand from her wound on her abdomen.  
  
"She's still alive, but barely," Hunk stated.  
  
Keith nodded as he looked up to meet Roaman's gaze, as he held the laser pistol aimed at them.  
  
"So, Captain, are you ready to face the crimes that you have perpetuated on our people?" Roaman asked.  
  
"Roaman! Stop it!"  
  
Keith looked up to see Lemille come to stand near them. "They are not responsible for what happened here!" she yelled.  
  
Neive slowly looked around as Lemille confronted the old man. He couldn't help but feel something was not right. Remembering that Shane stated he could only detect 10 life forms, he could clearly see that there were eleven. With one of them showing a weak life sign, he could only deduce that the weak life sign would be Queen Anala.  
  
Then, he watched as Pidge was able to sneak around the old man as he stood there, and before any of them could react, the young Voltron Force member ran toward the old man, in what looked like to be a tackle.  
  
Neive then gasped when the young member actually flew through the image of the old man, landing hard on the ground before them.  
  
Neive's eyes widened at the attempt the boy had made.  
  
"What the?" Lance was the first to voice.  
  
The image of the old man before them began to fade causing them to look around as his laughter filled the air.  
  
"And where is your god now, Captain?"  
  
Keith turned to see that Allura was now awake, sitting up and staring at him. It was then he noticed the pain coming from his side. Held in her tiny hands, she had stabbed him with a long knife.  
  
It was Lemille's scream that caused everyone to look at them.  
  
"Keith!"  
  
Allura's hold on him was like a vice as she stared at him. "You think that I will allow them to know the truth?" she asked as she pushed the knife deeper into his side.  
  
She then grabbed him by his arm, squeezing hard as she slowly stood. The others could only step back as she held him.  
  
"You ruined my chances to rule this world," she stated. "I had everything; I had the leaders of this world, obeying every word I said. Then you had to get in the way."  
  
"Roaman!" Lemille yelled.  
  
Lance was ready to lunge toward where they stood, but his action only caused Allura to react by breaking Keith arm. Hunk held the Red Lion pilot back as she pulled the knife that she had stabbed him with, to his neck.  
  
"You see, Lemille," she stated. "Even now, Ylren wants to control you. He knows that your power is valuable to him."  
  
"What are you saying?" Lemille asked.  
  
"He killed your father so that he could have control over you and Sendrre," Allura stated. "He knew that with your strength, he could take control over Argos."  
  
"That's a lie and you know it!" Keith yelled as he tried to move out of her hold. "Lemille, Ylren wasn't the one who killed your father!"  
  
"But-but I saw..."  
  
"See, Lemille, he's trying to trick you even now," Allura stated.  
  
"I don't understand," Lemille stated as tears came to her eyes. "I thought.."  
  
"Don't listen to him, Lemille!" Allura yelled. "I was the one that was always there for you. I'm the one who took care of you and Sendrre. It was I who told you what happened here. Why we needed to stay together so that we could take our revenge on those who caused the destruction of this planet."  
  
" 'No, it was you who decided the fate of this planet.' "  
  
Lemille gasped as Anala was now standing and then grabbed Allura's hand that was holding the knife and slowly pulled it away. She twisted the princess arm so that the knife was released from her hand and she then grabbed Keith by his uniform and pulled him away. With a push, she sent the princess flailing back as she nursed her arm.  
  
" 'It was you who wanted to control Argos, for your personal gain, '" Anala stated as she faced the princess. " 'It was you who murdered the chancellor to gain the trust of the people, and you tried to pin the blame on my brother.' "  
  
Allura's eyes widened. "Ylren?"  
  
" 'I warned you, Roaman, that I would be cautious in using what you have against those who looked up to you,' "Anala stated. " ' But you betrayed my trust, because all you could see was what benefited you.'"  
  
Lemille watched as the two women speak, trying to understand what was going on. She watched as Lance came to help Keith to his feet.  
  
"What's going on?" was all that he could ask.  
  
"Seems that and old rivalry has finally come to terms," Keith stated. "Roaman is in control over Allura, and Ylren is now in control over Anala."  
  
"Is that possible?"  
  
"Seems so," Keith said. He then groaned as Lance tended to the wound. "We have to stop them."  
  
"How are we gonna stop two people who have the power to kill us with just one thought?"  
  
"Its up to her," Keith said as he looked back to where Lemille was standing. "She's the key to stopping all of this."  
  
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" 'Lemille, you have been deceived all these years by this man, '" Anala stated. " 'He's lied to you about everything. '"  
  
"I don't understand," Lemille stated.  
  
" 'That day, long ago, when you saw your father,' " Anala said as she turned to the young woman. " ' It wasn't I who killed him; it was all planned by Roaman so that he could get you to do his dirty work. He saw in you, a power that was even greater than his. Both you and Sendrre, unlike the both of us, were born with your gifts. He knew that if he could have control over the both of you, he could rule Argos, without fear or trepidation from the people who lived here. '"  
  
"But I would never use my gifts to harm anyone!"  
  
" ' He knew that, so in order for him to make you think that it would be best to do what he wanted, he had your father framed for the murder of a high ranking chancellor; one who controlled the distribution of Lazon on this planet,' " Anala went on to explain. " 'He was already cutting deals with the Drules to drain this planet of its vital resources, and he was more than willing to use the people of this planet as his slaves to meet the demand of the empire. '"  
  
"What?" Lemille asked.  
  
" 'He was gonna sell Argos off to the highest bidder, '" Anala stated. "' And he didn't care who he hurt to do it. '"  
  
"I knew I should have killed you instead," Allura seethed.  
  
" 'Lemille, what he has been hiding from all these years is the darkest secret of all, '" Anala stated as she turned away from her to face Allura. " 'That in your anger of the discovery of your father's murder, you were the one responsible for disappearance of all the life on this planet. '"  
  
"What?" Lemille asked.  
  
Anala turned to her again. " 'You alone, in your grief, unleashed a power that neither any of had seen, ' " she stated. " ' In the process, you drained me of my own powers. Roaman was caught unprepared for this, and when he realized what was happening, it was too late. All his plans, all that he worked for, suddenly destroyed before him. The Drules then ravaged the lazon deposits and left, leaving him with nothing but a barren planet. It was at that point, he decided that all that had happened, was my fault. That if I hadn't arrived on Argos, everything that happened, would not have. He refused to believe that it was his actions that caused all of this to happen. He underestimated what you could do. And in his own crazed mind, he started to blame everything on me.  
  
" 'Lemille, Roaman was the one that murdered your father, '" Anala stated. " 'In a plan that failed miserably. '"  
  
Lemille fell to her knees as she began to cry. "All this time," she sobbed. "I was the one. Im the one responsible for all of this."  
  
" 'If it wasn't for Roaman's actions, all that happened on this planet would not have happened,'" Anala stated. " 'He used you, and in the process, lost everything that he wanted.'"  
  
"How, could I have been so fooled?" Lemille asked herself. "I should have seen through his lies."  
  
" 'It was something that you could not have seen, '"Anala stated.  
  
"You've destroyed all that was to be mines," Allura sneered as she stared at Anala. "I could have had everything, but you and self-righteous nature had to ruin it all."  
  
Anala turned toward Allura. " 'You've hurt many people in your life, Roaman, '" she stated. " 'I came to Argos, believing that you wanted to use your gifts to benefit your people. You instead wanted to control them. '"  
  
"They should have been controlled," Allura stated. "They didn't realize what they had, the power that they could have had. Instead, they were only concerned with their own lives; their own wants. I saw more than that."  
  
" 'You gambled with their lives! '" Anala yelled.  
  
"And I will continue to hurt the ones you care for!"  
  
Lemille watched as Allura went to attack Anala. A sudden anger filled her as she stood. This personal battle had to end. The man she knew for her entire life, was the reason why she had lost everything that she had cared for. He had lied to her, entire life. She knew that she was the one that had to stop this.  
  
"Stop!"  
  
Lemille came to stand between Anala and Allura and as she turned to Allura, she held her arm out to her.  
  
"Roaman, you will no longer hurt anyone," she stated. "Your lies end now."  
  
"Lemille, get out of the way!" Allura yelled.  
  
"No, Roaman, I'm done listening to you," Lemille stated as she completely turned to her. "I lived a lie all this time; it is time I made amends for all that we've done."  
  
"No, Lemille, you can't!"  
  
"Goodbye, Roaman."  
  
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Lance was quick on his feet as a bright light formed around Allura, and with a loud gasp, she started to fall, catching her before she slumped to the ground. He then stared up at Lemille who was somehow smiling as she turned to Anala who stood behind her. She then reached out with her hand, to touch her.  
  
"Ylren, I was a fool," she stated.  
  
" 'You were never that, Lemille, '" Anala stated. " 'You now have your own life to lead. Do what you have to do, Argos is dead to you; find someplace where you will finally be at home. '"  
  
"Thank you," Lemille stated. "And forgive me."  
  
" ' You will always be in my memories, Lemille, '" Anala stated.  
  
"As you will in mine," Lemille stated. "It's time, Ylren."  
  
Anala slowly nodded. " 'See that everyone is safe? '"  
  
"I promise," she stated. "I will undo what has been done."  
  
Anala could only nod as she reached her own hand to touch Lemille's. And as with Allura, she let out a gasp before she collapsed to the ground.  
  
Lemille then turned to everyone as she signaled for Sendrre to join her. There she held his hand in her own as everyone looked at her.  
  
"You have little time," she stated. "Please leave this planet as soon as you can. Argos is forever gone, and I will not see it fall into the hands of those who would only seek to gain from its riches."  
  
"Wait a minute!" Lance yelled as he stood. "You're just gonna leave us here?"  
  
"We have done much harm because we followed the words of Roaman," Lemille stated. "We now have to face the problems that we crated, and make amends for what we have done.  
  
"Argos will remain a mystery to those of this universe," she stated. "I suggest that you will never return to this planet."  
  
"What about Allura and Anala?" Lance asked. "Anala is about to die because of this planet."  
  
Lemille only smiled. "She will be safe," she said as she turned to Zeya and Lotor. "You will have to trust your enemies to see to her care."  
  
Lance followed her gaze. "Them?"  
  
"Anala will be safe with them," she stated. "Please, take leave of this planet as soon as you can. I cannot guarantee your safety here, much longer."  
  
"Wait--!"  
  
Keith grabbed Lance by his shoulder and shook his head. "Lance, its alright," Keith stated. "Call the rest of the Beta Team. Have them come pick us up."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Lance, please."  
  
Lance reluctantly did what Keith stated, and gathered everyone together. Hunk helped with Allura as Neive directed them safely out of the building. He remained behind as Keith stood, nursing his broken arm as he watched Lotor pick up his sister.  
  
"Promise that no harm will come to her," Keith stated.  
  
"You have our promise," Zeya stated. "There is nothing you can do for her, on Arus. On Doom, we may have a way to cure her."  
  
"Captain!" Neive called.  
  
"Go on, Captain Hayashi," Zeya stated. "We will return Anala to you once she is healed."  
  
Keith could only nod as he started to back away. He hoped that Ylren was right in having him trust them. His sister's life rested in their hands.  
  
-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/  
  
Lemille turned to the two siblings as they turned to her.  
  
"I hold you to your promise, prince Lotor," she stated. "If any harm befalls her, expect a visit from me."  
  
"Anala will be safe, and under my care," Lotor stated.  
  
Lemille only smiled to herself as she stood close to Sendrre. She regarded the Doom Prince as if she suddenly came to a realization about him.  
  
"She is a key to your future, Prince Lotor," she said as she turned away from him. "If what I sense of you, is true she means as much to you as you to her. Do not forget that."  
  
With a final nod, she waved her arms and both she and Sendrre disappeared before them.  
  
"What did she mean by that?" Zeya asked.  
  
"It doesn't matter," Lotor stated as he held Anala to him. "We have a promise to keep."  
  
With that Zeya nodded and transported the both of them to their awaiting ship.  
  



	18. Chapter 17

########################################################################  
Enemy My Friend  
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com

Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################

----------------  
Chapter 17  
----------------

----- Arus, 3 weeks later ------

Allura let out a groan as she seated herself in a small chair in her  
study. She placed her hand to her side, where a thick amount of  
bandages was now covering the small laser wound there.

"Damnit," she swore under her breath, as the pain shot through her.  
"Shouldn't have done that."

She looked over the paper work before her, checking off what Coran had  
assigned her to do. She was glad that she was able to catch up with  
everything she was behind on. This was the last of the main work she  
had to do.

As she placed the papers she finished on the side, she came upon a  
folder, that had been buried under all of her work. It was the only  
folder in her pile, so she was glad that it was probably something  
formal needed to be addressed for the Galaxy Alliance. After filing a  
30 page report about the happenings on Argos, and their cooperation  
with Prince Lotor and Princess Zeya, she was surprised that they did  
not come to question them about it more. The Lazon deposits alone,  
would have brought out the scientists for the various Galaxy Alliance  
planets alone. Though, she attributed their silence on the subject due  
to the small detail about people getting ill if they remained too long  
on the planet.

As she flipped open the folder, she realized that it wasn't a report  
to be reviewed for Galaxy Garrison. Instead, it was the personal file  
of Captain Keith Hayashi that laid before her.

A small note, in Coran's handwriting was placed at the top of the  
file, indicated that this would be a request to be discharged from  
active service with the Galaxy Alliance.

"Discharge?" Allura asked.

She went through the file, noting all the reports given and taken  
concerning Keith. She was amazed at the accomplishments he had  
achieved, yet working with him closely for the last four years, she  
realized that she barely knew him. Here he was fighting the demons of  
his past, yet devoted his time and energy seeing to the protection of  
her own planet.

She leaned forward and pressed a button on the small com link on her  
desk. Coran appeared on the screen before her.

"Coran, please contact Awnyor," she requested.

"May I ask as to what this concerns?" Coran replied, knowing that  
Awnyor was one of Arus' only living religious leader. Respected among  
the royal families, he was the one that crowned each king and queen  
and inducted every Arusian knight.

"I wish to officiate the two teams as royal knights of Arus," she  
stated. "And arrange a special honor to be given to Captain Keith  
Hayashi, on his retirement from military service."

Coran slowly nodded. "I see that you've read over the request," he  
stated. "You do know..."

Allura shook her head. "If I get Awnyor to induct the two teams as  
official knights, that little technicality will not matter," she  
stated. "However, it will be his choice to stay as commander."

Coran nodded with a slight smile. "I assume that you will speak to him  
on this?" he asked.

Allura nodded. "I'm sure he knew that I would come to see him on this  
request," she stated. "Besides, we have a few things to, speak on."

Coran nodded. "I will go ahead and send a message to Awnyor on your  
behalf," he stated.

"Thank you, Coran," she said.

As she pressed the button on her com link again, she slowly stood,  
closing the folder on her desk. She looked toward the bay windows and  
saw that the sun was sitting low on the horizon. She breathed in  
deeply, knowing that Lance and Keith were now by the moat, running  
drills with the Beta Team.

She then headed for the door of her study, to join them.

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/-  
-----/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

Lance smiled as he watched as the five members of the Beta Team  
surrounded Keith. He stood in a clam stance as they circled him.

"Now!" Lance yelled as he started the time on the stopwatch he was  
holding.

Katherine was the first to attack and before she could comprehend what  
had happened, she found herself lying flat on her back on the ground,  
just as Teri and LiAnne attacked him together.

Katherine let out a loud laugh as the five members just ended up in a  
pile on the ground.

"Damn, Keith, you were slow this time," Lance said as he approached  
his friend. "Took you 90 seconds to take them out."

"Hey, I'm doing this one armed," Keith said with a shrug, showing  
Lance the cast he wore.

"That's still fast, Captain," LiAnne said as she extricated herself  
from where she was lying on the ground. "The fasted recorded time at  
the Academy was 93 seconds."

Lance snickered. "Who do you think set that record?"

LiAnne's mouth fell open as the others started to stand from where  
they were. Neive laughed as he closed her mouth. "You're going to  
catch flies if you keep that open," he stated. "Besides, just tells us  
one thing anyway."

"And what is that Neive?" Katherine asked.

"We just haven't found the right distraction for our esteemed  
Captain," he stated.

"Distraction?" Lance asked. "What do you mean?"

"He means that everyone can be distracted by something," a voice came  
from behind them.

Keith and Lance turned as they watched as Allura joined them. She then  
smiled as she watched as the five members tackle Lance and Keith to  
the ground, pinning them against the cool grass.

"Or someone," she said. She smiled as Katherine grabbed the stopwatch  
Lance was trying to hold onto and LiAnne sitting on Lance's legs to  
prevent them from moving. "I take it that you guys are having fun?"

"Ah, princess, you gotta tell these two that all work and no play can  
drive us nuts," Shane stated as he stood. "They've been drilling us  
all afternoon."

Allura smiled as the seven of them pushed each other off, and slowly  
got to their feet.

"Well, before I interrupted your play-time, I wanted to let all of you  
know that Nanny will have dinner ready in an hour's time," she stated.  
"And as I recall, LiAnne and Shane have to finish their duties to her  
before dinner is served."

LiAnne's eyes widened. "Oh MY, I totally forgot!" she exclaimed. "We  
were supposed to have the dinning room cleaned."

Allura smiled. "Im sure that it will be alright with Keith and Lance  
that you two are excused to finish that?"

Keith and Lance could only nod and they watched as LiAnne and Shane  
raced each other back to the Castle.

"So, is practice over?" Katherine inquired.

"Seems it is," Lance stated. "But, early duty tomorrow. We have a lot  
of work for you guys to do. If that battle with the robeast on Argos  
was any indication of what you guys can do, we have a lot of work  
ahead of us."

"Hey!" Kit nearly yelled. "I thought we did good out there!"

Allura smiled as Lance started to walk away, covering his ears with  
his hands as Katherine chased after him, as she tried to get him to  
listen to her.

"And I want to go over those new improvements to the Castle's  
securities with Hunk and Pidge," Teri stated. "See you at dinner."

Neive suddenly felt like the third wheel when he realized that he was  
the only one left, with Princess Allura and Captain Hayashi. He  
quickly smiled and turned to Allura.

"If it's alright with you Princess, I wanted to speak with you about  
my mother's interest in my progress here," he stated. "Can we arrange  
a meeting tomorrow sometime?"

Allura nodded. "Have her contact me and we can arrange to have Galaxy  
Garrison send over your files."

He nodded. "Well, then, I will see you at dinner?"

Allura nodded. She smiled as Neive headed toward the Castle, now  
leaving just the two of them together.

"So, I take it that you're driving them away was part of your plan?"

Allura turned to Keith and saw that he was smiling at her. "What do  
you mean, driving them away?"

"You hardly come out to their training sessions," he stated as he  
started to walk away from her. "So, what's up?"

Allura crossed her arms. "Well, I wanted to speak with you on your  
request to retire from service," she said.

He turned to her as he picked up a rock from the ground and tossed it  
toward the lake.

"You think I shouldn't?" he asked.

She slowly shook her head. "I just wanted to hear your side of it?"  
she said. "Because you do know that if you do retire..."

He slowly nodded. "Yeah, Coran basically said the same thing," he  
said. He then smiled. "He also said something strange to me when he  
told me my files had arrived."

"What did he say?"

He looked to her as he walked up to her.

"How much time we have until dinner?"

"An hour or so."

He then wrapped his free arm around her.

"Let's go somewhere private."

With that, she let out a gasp as he held her tight against him and  
they flew into the air together.

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/-  
-----/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

Anala breathed in deeply as she stood quietly on the balcony that  
overlooked the robeast arena below her. She could see that citizens of  
Doom were gathering to watch their next battle of monsters created by  
Haggar compete against each other.

She groaned a little as her right shoulder began to ache again, but it  
soon went away as fast as it appeared. Breathing was still a little  
difficult for her, but she knew she owed her life to whatever craft  
Haggar and Zeya had put her through to cure her from the Lazon poisoning.

She had sent word to her mother on Vallis that she was fine, and would  
return as soon as Haggar agreed that she was fully able to function  
without her help. Even though they were able to cure her of the Lazon  
poisoning, the wound she had received from the robeast, caused her  
much greater damage. She had lost the use of her right wing, leaving  
her unable to fly. Something that she knew she would regret losing,  
but again, glad that she was able to live through the entire ordeal.

The door the room she was then opened. She turned around and watched  
as a young Doom girl entered, carrying some linens in her arms.

"Your highness," the girl stated. "I brought these up for you."

Anala smiled as she nodded and crossed the room to meet with her.  
"Thank you, Anri" she stated. "But, when Im here on Doom, you can just  
call me Anala."

"Oh, I must not, Your highness," she stated. "It would be disrespectful."

"Its alright," Anala stated. "I was never one on formalities."

"Your high--, I mean, miss Anala, may I ask a question."

"Anything," she stated.

"Is it true?" she asked. "That Prince Lotor is seeking an alliance  
with your planet?"

"We have a mutual truce, Anri," she stated.

"Even if you're part of the Galaxy Alliance?"

Anala slowly nodded. "Vallis will support the Galaxy Alliance on  
whatever they do, but our position with Planet Doom will always remain  
neutral," she stated. "A condition I pushed for when we joined the  
Galaxy Alliance. If Drule or Alliance sets foot on Vallis, none shall  
do harm to one another."

The girl nodded. "I am glad to hear that you think differently than  
most leaders, my lady," she said. "Do you wish to have the bed turned  
down for the evening?"

Anala shook her head. "I'll be fine," she said. "Thank you, Anri."

With a bow, the young girl quietly left the small room as the door  
closed behind her.

Anala walked back toward the balcony as she stared down at the arena  
below, seeing that the competition was underway. She then heard her  
door open again.

"Anri, I..." she started to say as she turned around. She then took a  
step back seeing that Princess Zeya was standing in her doorway.

"Zeya."

"Its good to see you moving about, Anala," she stated.

"Im still running short of breath if I do anything physical," she  
stated. "But feeling better."

"Good," Zeya stated. "Do you think you can handle a small walk?"

Anala slowly nodded. "Is it time?"

Zeya nodded. "He is waiting."

Anala breathed in deeply as she walked to where Zeya was standing. She  
then nodded as she walked out of her room.

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/-  
-----/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/Allura let out a sigh as she and Keith sat atop the head of the Black  
Lion, watching in the distance as Arus' sun was slowly descending in  
the sky.

"Don't tell me that you do this often," she said with mild amusement.

"When I can get away," he said as he turned to her. "Its about the  
closest thing you can feel to being in heaven."

"Despite the fact that you can fly, Im sure heaven is something you  
can experience often," she stated.

He shrugged as he turned to face the setting sun. "This is better than  
flying," he said. "I get to see a beautiful sunset, over land that has  
remained unchanged for years. The birds flying high as they race back  
to their nests to rest for the coming evening. The breeze is just cool  
enough, allowing a crispness to the evening. Its neither too cold or  
too warm, and one can be comfortable in just dealing with their own  
thoughts. These are all things that I didn't get to see much of when I  
was growing up on Earth."

Allura slowly nodded. "I guess everyone needs someplace to escape to,"  
she stated. "Have you heard from your sister?"

He slowly shook his head. "She's still on Doom, recovering," he said.  
"I'm hoping that she is doing fine."

"I know it's a strange situation," Allura stated. "But it seems that  
she has always maintained some sort of neutral relationship with them."

"Im sure she knows what she is doing," he said. "Im not there to tell  
her what to do; she's capable of deciding what is good for the people  
of Vallis."

Allura nodded then was silent for a moment. "How about you?" she  
asked. "Anything that is a side-effect of what happened?"

He shook his head. "Since that encounter, all that I felt before, I  
.." he seemed to search for the right words. "It's like, before. Where  
everything that I went through, I didn't."

"So you're saying that all the..special gifts we've seen you exhibit,  
you no longer...have a feel for them?"

He nodded. "Kind of," he said. "Im more aware of everything, but all  
that was I had, whatever Ylren was showing through me, I no longer  
feel it." He then looked at her. "Back to normal I guess?"

She smiled. "If leaving you with the only ability of flying is normal,  
yes I would agree," she said. "So no more of Ylren?"

"He's totally gone," Keith stated. "I can no longer 'feel' him."

She nodded. "Some normalcy returns," she commented. "It's good to see  
that you are in good spirits."

"I guess because I have less to worry about," he stated. "I just have  
Arus, the teams and everyone here to worry about."

"Do you really need to worry about us?" she asked.

"You don't like me to worry?"

She turned away from him. "I don't want you to burden yourself with  
anything unnecessary. But, your concern is greatly appreciated."

"Sometimes, I wish Nanny would show that," he stated in amusement.

"She means well," she stated. "But I can see that she sometimes goes a  
little overboard."

"A little?" he asked. "Did you know that she had Shane, Teri and Pidge  
clean out the three of the lower storage rooms?"

"For what?"

"I don't know," he stated. "Do you realize how big those rooms are  
when they are emptied?

Allura laughed to herself. "Yes, I used to use them as hiding spots  
when I was younger," she stated. "I used to like the ones that were  
filled. Many places to hide."

He smiled. "That must have drove her nuts."

"She recruited 10 of my father's guards to search on storage room for  
me, one time," she said. "It was quite the ordeal. I recall that I  
couldn't sit normally for about a day or two."

She silently laughed to herself. "I miss those days."

"Which is why we are dedicated to make sure that your people will  
never have to go through what you did," he stated.

She met his gaze. "Why are you leaving the service?"

"To be honest?"

She nodded.

"Recently, there has been other things in my life that I find more  
important," he said. "I know it jeopardizes what I do for the force  
and everything, but weighing the options I have, I don't think that  
continuing in the service will help me. In fact, I think it would only  
pull me away from a place that I consider home. I mean, what prevents  
them from reassigning me to other areas? I don't want to go through  
that. Not when Arus has become my home."

Allura smiled inwardly, warmed to hear that from him. "Im glad that  
Arus has given you that...feeling," she said.

He then turned to face her, the sun already having set in the distance  
behind the mountains. The fading light cast and unusual glow around  
the both of them.

"It's more than that," he stated. "Somehow, it feels that I truly  
belong here. And I haven't felt that way in a long time. Even on  
Earth, growing up, I wanted to so much to be among the stars, to find  
that place where I'd be welcomed. Here, I look forward to every time I  
return. The people, here have come from such hard lives, yet they  
trudge through it, knowing they will be safe as long as we are around.  
They aren't burdened with the hardships that the rest of us experienced.

"I love it here, Ally," he stated. "And I don't ever want to leave."

Allura turned to him as she moved to lean more toward him, putting her  
weight on her arms as she met his gaze.

"Is that all?" she asked. "Arus being a home for you? Is that all that  
there is that makes you want to stay here?"

She could feel her heart to race as she held his gaze, her face coming  
closer to his.

"Is Arus and its people the only thing that makes you feel at home here?"

Keith could only meet her gaze. "No, it's not the only thing," he stated.

"Then tell me, what else has made you come to love this planet?" she  
stated.

And for the first time in a long while, Keith could not find the words  
to say.


	19. Chapter 18

########################################################################  
Enemy My Friend  
Arus  
arus-dot-geo-at-yahoo-dot-com

Voltron and its characters are owned by World Event's Productions.  
########################################################################

----------------  
Chapter 18 - Epilogue  
----------------

----- Doom ------

Anala breathed in deeply as she stood in the large throne room, escorted by Haggar and Princess Zeya.

Just what she was getting herself into, she did not know. However, she knew that to maintain the neutrality between Vallis and Doom was important. She did not want a repeat of what Kellar did on Vallis to be repeated. She knew that the Drule's forces, if under King Zarkon's orders would decimate the lives they were rebuilding on Vallis.

Anala watched as she neared the dias and slowly bowed as King Zarkon stood to stand before her. To his side, Prince Lotor stood, but he did not join his father at the foot of the dias, where she stood.

"Queen Anala, is it?"

Anala slowly nodded as she stood upright to meet his gaze.

"Yes, sire," she stated.

"It has come to my attention that you were responsible for saving the life of my son?"

Anala nodded. "It was all that I could do, under the circumstances," she stated. "We were all fooled into believing that Roaman was acting in your best interest to rid you of your enemies."

Zarkon could only scowl. "Yes, we were," he stated. "But know that this does not overlook that you and your planet are still in league with the Galaxy Alliance."

"Which is why I have adamantly stated to the Galaxy Alliance that there is no quarrel between Doom and Vallis," she said. "We in good faith, returned everything to you that was stolen, by Kellar. We hope that in our actions speak loudly on our neutrality in the situation."

"You do not have to justify yourself to me, young Queen," he stated. "In our culture, once you have shown to sacrifice your life to save another, you are bound to a life debt."

"A life debt?" she asked.

"Lotor owes you his life, he now owes you for this for the rest of his life," he stated.

"Sire, if it pleases, your son, and daughter have done more for me than I have done for him," she stated. "I was at the verge of death and they happened to bring me back. That is something I can never repay."

"Then you are both bound to each other," he stated. "A life debt can't easily be ignored."

Anala bowed again. "If it means that much to you, sire, then I wish to accept that life debt, in exchange for my own."

Zarkon then met the gaze of his daughter then slowly walked up to the dias. "Is it true that you are the sister of the Voltron Commander?"

"Yes, sire, it is true," she stated. "However, he has no say in what I do or how I rule over Vallis. He does disagree with my decisions on how I have handled this, but he understands that there is nothing he can say that would change my mind."

Zarkon nodded then walked to his throne. "I can see why Lotor has been intrigued by you, Queen Anala," he stated. "Which is why I wanted to meet you before I decided what would be in the best interest for all of us."

Anala nodded. "If it means anything to you, sire, I will be forever grateful for what you have allowed for me," she stated. "Your hospitality is appreciated."

"I only do this for the sake of my son, Queen Anala," he stated. "Which is why I've given his request a great deal of consideration."

Anala nodded. "And my stipulations?"

"I have agreed to them," he stated. "Provided that you do not interfere with what we do."

"I have no intentions to do so," she stated. "However, further actions involving Arus, Princess Allura, and the Voltron Force, may warrant my interest."

Zarkon scowled, but took a seat on this throne. "Our interest on that matter may wane in near future," he stated. "As a new concern has come to our attention."

"New concern?" Anala asked.

"Something you don't need to worry about," he stated. "Im sure when the time comes, Lotor will let you know what is going on."

Anala nodded. "So we have reached an agreement?"

King Zarkon turned to Lotor and slowly nodded. "If it means this much to my son, I can only allow the union to go through," he stated. "Are you sure of your feelings for my son?"

Anala slowly nodded.

"Then it is settled," he stated as he stood again. "We shall arrange for the ceremony for a week from today. I will grant his request for your hand in marriage."

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

----- Arus ------

Allura could only stare at him as they sat together on the head of the Black Lion. The sun had gone down in the distance, as the somber hues of dusk started to settle in.

"What else has made you come to love this planet?"

She watched as his expression changed rapidly, from one of surprise then to one of concern. Her own heart raced, and she fought to control her own breathing. She wanted to hear him say those words that she knew she longed to hear.

She felt his hand come to the side of her face, brushing a strand of hair away as he kept her in his gaze. She felt her face near his, her gaze darting for a moment to stare at his lips. How she wanted now, to feel those lips on her own.

Then, a beep sounded, causing them to move away from each other. Keith pulled the com link off of his belt to answer it.

"Keith here," he answered, sounding somewhat annoyed.

"Don't know where the two of you are, but I suggest you find a way of sneaking back into the castle and get to the dining hall in the next three minutes."

It was Lance.

"What?" Keith asked.

"Remember, dinner was supposed to served in an hour," Lance replied. "Well that hour is almost up and the rest of us are already heading to the dining hall."

"Oh my!" Allura exclaimed as she stood. "It's been that long?"

"Yes!" Lance nearly yelled. "Hurry, she's already giving Coran the once over."

"We'll be there." Keith said as he closed the com link and placed it back on his belt. He stood and took Allura's hand. "Don't worry, I know a quick way in."

Before she could answer, he held her against him and took off toward the castle.

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

Lance smiled as he placed the com link on his belt and turned to Pidge, as they stood at the window from the Rec Room in the North Face of the Castle. There, they could see Black Lion, sitting in the distance. They had watched as the two then flew off together to get back to the Castle.

"Ah Lance, that was cheating," Shane stated as he joined them. "They were almost gonna do it."

Pidge snickered as he walked away from the window. "Well, we interrupted their little tryst, so I suggest we follow through and go down to dinner."

"Wise idea," Lance stated

Katherine could only shake her head as she followed them out of the rec room. "Why can't you guys just let them be?"

"And take away our fun?" Lance asked. "We are taking bets on the next one, wanna join in?"

Katherine let out a groan as they walked down the hallway toward that would take them to the dining hall.

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

----- Vallis - 2 weeks later ------

Anala breathed in deeply as she stepped off the Doom ship and was greeted by an entourage, consisting of several soldiers and her mother, along with Xue. Alysson rushed to her as she made her way down the path and took her into her arms.

"I was so worried," Alysson stated. "Are you alright?"

"I could be better," Anala stated. "Im still in a little pain."

"We can have our doctors check you over," she stated. "Make sure that you didn't catch any infections."

Anala could only nod as she turned back to the ship. There she watched as Princess Zeya nodded. Her thoughts then went back to the moment before they had entered Vallis' orbit.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" 

"You know that you and Lotor will always be welcomed on Vallis," Anala stated.

Zeya could only shake her head. "When are you going to tell them?"

Anala could only turn her head away. "In time," she said. "But, for now, it will be unknown to everyone else."

"This is from Lotor," she stated.

Zeya then handed her a small device. "If you need to get in contact with either of us, just use this," she stated. "It's untraceable, so that it won't alarm your defense systems to outside communications to Doom."

Anala nodded. "Zeya, there's another matter that I wish to discuss with you."

"And that is?"

Anala looked up to meet her gaze. She then smiled as she took her hands into her own.

Anala then turned away, as Zeya stepped back into the ship. The entourage then slowly made their way back to the palace, and Anala look back one last time as the ship took off. 

" 'You will be protected, my child,' "

Anala turned around wondering where that voice had come from.

" 'Don't worry, my dear Anala, no harm shall come to you, '" the voice came again. " 'You carry with you the future of this galaxy. '"

Anala could only nod as she turned to catch up with her mother as they made their way back to the palace.

-----/-----/-----/-----/------/------/------/------/-----/-----/-------/------/------/------/------/------/-----/------/------/------/------/------/

Lemille smiled as she watched from the distance. Sendrre then came to stand beside her.

"So, this will be our new home?" he asked.

Lemille nodded. "Ylren has asked us to look over all that is on his home planet," she stated. "The best that we can do is make sure we live up to that request."

"So he is truly gone?"

Lemille nodded. "In a sense that is only understandable to these humans," she said. "He is still here, with us."

Sendrre nodded. "We should find a place to settle down."

Lemille turned to him. "There is a little glen, not far from here," she stated. "I remember Ylren telling me about it when I was a child. Said he grew up there."

"Do you think it still exists?"

Lemille nodded. "We'll just have some work to do to rebuild it if it doesn't," she said then turned back toward the palace. "That way we are near her."

"She is that important?"

She nodded. "The Triasians will be interested in this system, very soon," she said. "Yrlen sensed that they were coming, which is why he planned all this out."

"I thought he was targeting the Captain," Sendrre stated.

Lemille shrugged. "Things have a way of changing under odd circumstances," she said. "But I think this will work out better."

"Don't you feel bad that we tricked them?" he asked.

"It's what had to be done," she stated. "Time was running out, and Ylren knew that if he were to reborn, to confront the Triasians when they reach this system, he would need to have one of them get together."

Sendrre nodded. "And by chance, this coupling was the one that worked out?"

She nodded. "Until the time is right, the truth shall be revealed to all of them," she said. "Till then, we will keep watch over Anala."

"Let's get going," he stated. "It will be dark soon."

Lemille nodded then turned to him. "Boy or girl?"

Sendrre turned to her. "Boy," he stated. "That family seems to be strong with their males."

Lemille nodded as she then followed him down a forest path. The future of Vallis, Arus and Doom now becoming clearer for all those involved.

--------end--------

And that's the end of this one. Now, what is to come? Well, wait and see..


End file.
